


I Will Fight For You

by orphan_account



Category: Hunger Games Trilogy - Suzanne Collins, IT (Movies - Muschietti), IT - Stephen King
Genre: F/M, Internalized Homophobia, M/M, basically everyone gets together in the last five chapters good luck with that lol, mike is single and happy, stanley throws knives
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-07-13
Updated: 2020-12-14
Packaged: 2021-03-05 01:22:12
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 25
Words: 19,140
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25246087
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: Every year, on November 22nd The Games begin. Seven children are chosen to try and defeat Pennywise the clown in an arena. No one has ever succeeded. Until now.Or...The losers club don’t know each other until they are thrown in a fight with a demonic clown. Platonic and romantic bonds surface.The It/Hunger Games AU that no one asked for.
Relationships: Ben Hanscom & Beverly Marsh, Ben Hanscom & Richie Tozier, Ben Hanscom/Beverly Marsh, Beverly Marsh & Richie Tozier, Bill Denbrough & Richie Tozier, Bill Denbrough & Stanley Uris, Bill Denbrough/Stanley Uris, Eddie Kaspbrak & Richie Tozier, Eddie Kaspbrak/Richie Tozier, Mike Hanlon & Ben Hanscom, Mike Hanlon & Richie Tozier, Richie Tozier & Stanley Uris
Comments: 22
Kudos: 36





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> Hii! This is my first fic. I really hope you like it. Please comment!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I have orphaned this fic. I know that's weird and annoying, but to be honest I just don't enjoy writing it anymore. The fic will still be available to read, just not on my account. Please try to understand. And to be clear, there will be no more updates. The chapters that are already done will stay how they are. Thankyou to anyone who read this and supported it. 
> 
> Love you guys- Adley

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is really short and probably shitty, but whatevs it's just the beginning.

The games were old. 

They had been around longer than imaginable. 

Pennywise started them. 

Pennywise the clown.

Pennywise the clown was evil. He was evil and wretched and terrible and everyone feared him.

Because every year on November 22nd, the games began with seven selected children. The selected children competed in a battle with Pennywise. 

But, Pennywise fought mercilessly. 

No one ever won against him, and no child ever emerged his lair still breathing. 

Because Pennywise fought mercilessly, and his cackling laughter filled up everyone's minds.

In Derry, Maine, everyone feared The Games.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I told you it was short, haha. Anyways, thanks for reading the first chapter!


	2. Beverly Marsh

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> again, this is pretty short but they will get longer!

Pennywise looked at the school. He was hiding behind a bush, the gravel around him was littered with bicycles and candy wrappers. The school was warm looking, but also dull-looking. Dull to the students, particularly one student. Pennywise was observing her now. Beverly Marsh, her name was. Beverly has hopped out a window in the back of one of the classrooms a couple of seconds before. She had come out crouched low with fire in her eyes. Beverly had long and dainty red locks, light freckles, and lovely green eyes that seemed to twinkle in the sun. They glimmered a lot when she hopped out of the window, breaking rules often made a small light come into Beverly’s eyes. She was of average height for a fourteen-year-old.

Beverly was accompanied by another girl. She was far less remarkable. Short brown hair and blue eyes. Her name was Debby Crocker. But, Pennywise was not watching Debby Crocker. No, Pennywise was watching Beverly Marsh as she took two white gloves from her pocket. They were remarkably similar to the ones on Pennywise’s hands now. 

“ Come on Deb. This ought to give that Henry boy a right good scare. Especially with the games coming around. Pennywise should be choosing contestants soon enough.” She said. Her voice was rough, but soothing all the same. It was cracked and low, an effect that only came from smoking.

“ I don’t know, Bevvie. We could get in big trouble.” Debby Crocker said. Debby’s voice was higher and squeakier. It was pleasant enough, though.

“ We’ll be alright Deb. No one will notice we’re gone.” Beverly said and laid out the gloves by Henry Bowers’ bicycle. Henry Bowers was a bully with a bad attitude. He bullied all sorts of kids, but Beverly was a regular victim. Debby not so much, but she had tagged along with Beverly anyway not without much persuasion on the redheads part.

Debby Phillips was probably Beverly’s best friend if she thought about it. Beverly didn’t have many friends, mainly enemies. She was gorgeous, but quite a rebel. She was the kind of girl who would smoke in the school bathroom, and wear jean jackets with patches. She was the kind of girl who would paint her nails black and put on heavy mascara. She was the kind of girl who would smear dirt all over her face and play with the boys. Beverly Marsh was that kind of girl.

And that was why Debby Phillips and Beverly Marsh we’re standing beside Henry Bowers’ bike. Placing gloves meticulously on the hot cement. 

Beverly finally looked happy with what she had done so she stepped back and admired her work. There were white gloves balancing on Henry’s bike as if it was a warning from Pennywise himself. 

Beverly shot a triumphant look at Debby and saw the brown-haired girl glancing skeptically toward the school building.

“Come on Bev. We did what we came to do.” Debby said.

“Oh, alright don’t shit yourself,” Beverly grumbled and walked beside a tentative Debby back towards the window they had popped out of not five minutes ago.

Pennywise made a careful note about how Beverly glanced quickly toward Henry’s bike, a sly smile on her face. He made a note about how her eyes looked more red than green at that moment. Then she bounded inside after Debby.

Pennywise grinned a shit-eating grin and stalked off.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading!


	3. Richie Tozier

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ugh, I hated writing this, I don't like hurting them,

This time Pennywise was behind a tree. He hardly needed to hide at all because the barrens were so lush and full of natural life. He hid anyway.

Richie Tozier came sauntering into the barrens. His coke bottle glasses were low on his face. His thick black hair was a mess. Richie has brown eyes and long eyelashes. He was tall and lanky. He was known to everyone as the resident Trashmouth. He was funny when he wanted to be, but a whole lot of nonsense came out of his mouth as well. Richie has a pretty dirty mind, he was always making explicit jokes mainly about his friend's mothers. Richie was eleven.

He pushed his glasses up to his forehead and started muttering to himself. Pennywise heard.

“You’re a fucking faggot. You’re so goddamn disgusting.” He said angrily and pinched the bridge of his nose.

“Criss was fucking right. You’re terrible you ought to be ashamed.” Richie kept berating himself and felt angry tears leaking his eyes.

“Mom is gonna have a fucking fit if she ever finds out. Went’s gonna fucking disown me, dammit!” Richie rambled on and Pennywise smiled.

Richie kept crying and talking to himself about how he was disgusting or something or other. Eventually, he sat on a tree stump.

“I better get home before Criss finds me. That bastard.” Richie finished about an hour later. Pennywise felt his lips turn up.

Richie adjusted his glasses again and wiped his sweaty hair off his forehead. Then he ran off. A shout erupted behind him. Words that sounded like,” Fairy!” Or,” Fucking faggot!” Or maybe even,” Four eyes!” Richie kept running.

Pennywise then got up brushed some dirt off his clown suit and walked away.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading!


	4. Bill Denbrough

This time, Pennywise was crouched on the roof of the Denbrough house. He was just above Bill Denbrough’s window and could look inside.

He did so, and saw a boy with auburn hair blue eyes. He was thin and solemn. He was tall. Bill was quiet, but a natural leader. He spoke with a stutter.

Bill was drawing something as he perched on his bed. The lamp was illuminating the small room slightly.

Pennywise looked to see what it was that he had been working on in his old battered sketchbook.

It was a pencil sketch of a boy. The boy had a slicker on, and rain boots. He had a smile on his face and he looked an awful lot like Bill. This boys two front teeth were missing, but the resemblance was shocking.

Bill and this boy must be related, Pennywise decided.

In fact, the boy being drawn was Bill’s brother: Georgie Denbrough. Georgie was six years old, and Bill himself was eleven.

Pennywise clucked in approval as Bill pulled out some paints in all sorts of colors.

He got a cup of water in the bathroom that was attached to his bedroom. He came back and sat on his bed as he began to paint his drawing.

He started with bright yellow paint like the sun; or at least a sunflower. With this he painted Georgie’s jacket and boots.

Then he moved on to Georgie’s skin. It was a pale color, with some pink at the cheeks and nose. Like the small boy was cold.

Then Bill painted Georgie’s hair. A fine auburn, just like his own.

Georgie’s eyes were the last thing. Bill painted them a piercing blue.

In the painting Georgie was smiling happily as raindrops fell around him. It was a good picture. Very good, in fact.

Pennywise grinned as Bill closed the sketchbook and put it in a drawer on his desk. Then he burrowed under the covers and shut off the light.

Pennywise left.


	5. Eddie Kaspbrak

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> uh fuck sonia...?
> 
> yeah theres no excuse for the laziness of this chapter sorry

Pennywise was in the Kaspbrak’s yard. By the door, behind a shrub. He was listening to a conversation that was happening on the inside of the house.

Well, the more accurate term was ‘screaming match.’ It was between Sonia Kaspbrak and her son, Eddie. Eddie had brown hair that was wavy, and baby brown eyes. His lips were pink and plump. His skin was pale and rosy. Eddie was short too, very short. Eddie may have been small but he was a feisty little devil. He loved hanging around the junkyard and repairing cars at the mechanics. His mother had made him into a sort of a hypochondriac. He was terrified of diseases and his mother had even made him think that he had a nasty case of asthma. Until he turned nine he had believed her. Now he was eleven, but he still carried around that inhaler. Eddie has gotten over some of his fears but he always washed his hands and carried around a fanny-pack with anything he could possibly ever need.

“Eddie-Bear! I just want the best for you! You are a fragile boy, Eddie! You need to stop hanging around that junkyard! It’s dirty Eddie-Bear! I don’t want you getting sicker than you already are!” Sonia had cried.

Eddie was not having that.

“Oh, stop it Ma! You need to stop lying it’s getting really fucking old!” He yelled angrily.” I’m not sick and I never have been! You just said that! Mr. Keene told me all about the gazebos! They’re bullshit, Ma! The junkyard is dirty and I fucking like it that way! Leave me alone, Ma!”

Sonia gasped and Pennywise could almost see her pressing a hand to her mouth in horror.

“Don’t take that tone with me, young man! That is no way to speak to your Ma! Apologize now Eddie-Bear!” She yelled.

Eddie shook his head and grinned a little bit. The grin got colder and his next words came out harsh.” You. First.” He nearly spat.

Sonia shook her head and pointed to the door.

“Out! My son will not speak to me in that way.” She exclaimed.

Eddie shook his head.” I’ll do whatever I want Ma.” He said loud and clear.

“I’m going upstairs to pack my things. Then I’ll leave and never come back.” He said smugly.

Sonia shook with anger.” Eddie please I do it only because I love you!” She tried.

Eddie didn’t turn back.

He went upstairs and put a couple of outfits in his backpack. He planned to go stay with Moe; the mechanic. For a couple of days at least. He’d go home after The Games. The Games were tomorrow. Both he and his mother would have some time apart.

He slung the backpack over his shoulder and pocketed his inhaler. Eddie walked downstairs. Sonia was staring at him pointedly.

“Where are you going Eddie-Bear. The world is a dangerous place! I need you to stay with me!” She bawled.

Eddie just walked past her. He went to the door. Pennywise walked away just in time.

“Goodbye, Sonia.” He heard Eddie say softly. Then he disappeared.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thanks for reading


	6. Ben Hanscom

Pennywise saw Ben Hanscom next. He was in the library. Pennywise was behind a bookshelf. 

Ben was a chubby kid. His face was pudgy and his stomach was large. He was ashamed of being so fat, but he couldn’t get any skinnier. If anyone bothered to look past his weight, they might find that Ben had a nice smile, and pretty brown eyes. They might find that he was sweet and sensitive and loved a good long romance novel. They might find that he wrote good poetry, or that he was always in the library. No one ever looked past his weight though. 

That’s why Ben Hanscom didn’t have any friends. He was the shy fat kid and no one ever said anything or did anything to change that. It was a fact. Just like the ocean being blue, or clouds being white. Ben Hanscom was the shy fat kid.

Pennywise caught Ben where he usually was, at the library. He was reading about the civil war. Ben loved reading. He usually did it for fun, but today Ben was reading for a project he had in history class.

Pennywise watched him read the book and take notes with a small smirk on his lips. Ben was immersed in the book and only looked up when someone new entered the library.

The next time the library door opened it was Patrick Hockstetter. Ben’s designates bully. Patrick Hockstetter was insane. He needed to go to Juniper Hill or somewhere because he was right crazy. He was followed around by his lackeys: Peter Gordon and Belch Huggins. They followed him like dogs.

Patrick Hockstetter was a homophobe and he was violent. He carried a pocket knife, in which he had used to carve a P.H. Into Ben’s stomach. It had mostly healed by now but the scar was still there.

Patrick never went to the library, but he knew it was the perfect place to find Ben Hanscom. So went there with his chums to torture the fat boy.

“ Hi there Tits!” Patrick called through the usually quiet library. Ms. Starrett, the librarian glared at him. He didn’t notice and kept on walking towards Ben Hanscom.

Ben instantly knew who it was. Patrick Hockstetter was the only one who ever called him ‘tits’. 

Ben fathered his stuff quickly and tried to make a hasty escape. 

Pennywise didn’t stay find out if he succeeded.


	7. Stanley Uris

Pennywise went to Stanley Uris next. He had curly light brown hair. That looked like noodles to some people. He had almond shaped eyes that were hazel in color. He was tall, but not too tall. He was thin, but had broad shoulders.

Stanley was absolutely immaculate. He had OCD. Sometimes he muttered things like,” Everything has a pair.” Because that’s what his OCD told him to do.

Pennywise saw him sitting at a park bench with binoculars in his hands. He had about three bird laid out neatly beside him. Stanley had a crisp blue polo shirt on and ironed khaki pants. He looked like some kind of school teacher even though he was eleven.

Stanley was obviously birdwatching. He had a small and shy grin on his face as he jotted down a quick note in his bird book. Pennywise smirked as Stanley added a note to one of the books.

He kept doing this every so often, and his face would light up every time he spotted a bird that he hadn’t recorded before. 

There were blue jays, robins, cardinals, and more complex species like finches, swallows, sparrows and other things.

Pennywise found this almost calming to watch Stanley.

After observing quietly for a while, Pennywise crept away.


	8. Mike Hanlon

Pennywise wrinkled his nose a little, the barn door that he was seated behind was slightly stinky. 

He pushed the smell away and peered outside to the young eleven year old boy he was watching. 

Mike Hanlon was his name, he was a black and tall boy with pretty brown eyes and short hair.

Mike was kneeling down beside what appeared to be a chicken coop. Collecting eggs or something-or-other.

Mike stood with a little wire basket and he rose to his full height. He was taller than any of the other children that Pennywise had watched.

Mike walked inside the small farmhouse where he lived, and a minute later he came back out with a pail.

Mike walked to the barn and Pennywise moved so he was behind a wheelbarrow.

Mike moved toward a cow that was in the barn and he sat on a stool beside the cows stomach.

He reached out and grabbed the udder in his large hands and milked the cow into the bucket.

He milked the cow and took the milk inside, then Pennywise left. He had exactly what he needed.


	9. The Games

Thousand of children were seated in the stands. The arena was below. It was November 22nd.

The children weren’t alone though, their parents and other family members were crowded a little ways away, watching and listening.

Seven children would be selected today. Seven families would exit the arena with tears and crumpled faces, because that was how it was every year, and in Derry any divergence from the norm was usually a cause for concern.

Nothing ever changed in Derry. For better or for worse; that was the way things were.

Except for today. Today things weren’t ever going to be the same again. It started with the mayor standing behind a podium microphone in hand.

“ Hello, citizens of Derry. Today is the start of The Games.” The mayor paused, his words sunk in to the faithful audience silently awaiting their fates.

“ As you are aware, Pennywise has begun his selection process and seven of you will be called to this arena. We know that you will do great things for our city. Selection will begin shortly.” He said and everyone stayed completely still.

Beverly Marsh looked at her fingernails and nervously prodded her skirt.

Richie Tozier adjusted his glasses and lamely shot finger-guns at a boy sitting a little ways away. 

Bill Denbrough looked over at where his little brother was sitting. He made a silent prayer.

Eddie Kaspbrak looked at where the families were gathered, he had yet to make up with his mother, but she was standing there eyes wide with anxiety.

Ben Hanscom wrung his hands and pulled a loose thread on his shirt.

Stanley Uris smoothed his crisply ironed polo shirt buttoned the top button again and again.

Mike Hanlon shuffled his feet and waited for when the Mayor would speak up again.

Turns out he didn’t need to wait for long. 

“ Okay, we are ready to make selections.” He said simply, there was a sharp intake of breath from almost everyone in the arena. The Mayor pushed on. Beverly, Richie, Bill, Eddie, Ben, Stanley, and Mike all shut their eyes tightly.

He cleared his throat and adjusted his tie.” Will the following children come to the podium, Beverly Marsh. Richard Tozier. William Denbrough. Edward Kaspbrak. Ben Hanscom. Stanley Uris. Michael Hanlon.”

The children opened their eyes, The Games had begun.


	10. Hello and Goodbye

Beverly, Richie, Bill, Eddie, Ben, Stanley, and Mike felt the mayor’s words hit them hard.

Beverly felt tears spring in her eyes. She had been selected. Beside her, Debby squeezed her arm and whispered,” Oh, Bevvie.” partly to herself.

Suddenly there was a loud cry.

Everyone looked over to where the families were gathered and saw Sonia Kaspbrak on her knees, crying for her ‘Eddie-Bear’.

The Mayor cleared his throat. “ If I have called your name please come to the podium and stand before your city.” 

The first one to rise was Bill. He looked at his brother who had his head in his hands, then he looked at his parents who were clinging to each other and crying. Bill squeezed his eyes shut and opened them again before walking towards the Mayor.

Ben stood next, his wide frame was slouched and his eyes were red. He walked toward the Mayor as well. 

Then Richie stood up, his bottom lip was trembling. It seemed as if the world had come crashing around him. He stumbled to the podium beside Ben and Bill. Richie looked over to his mother and father who were crying.

Eddie came next. His eyes were full of tears as he went to stand next to the other boys.

Mike stood too, his eyes were wide, but he wasn’t crying his composure remained as he walked over to the Mayor.

Beverly was crying loudly and she had to be prompted by Debby to move out of her seat. Debby’s eyes were also wet. Beverly’s aunt was honking her nose into a handkerchief.

Stanley came last. He was trembling like a leaf and muttering to himself. To an onlooker he might have looked crazy, but he went to stand next to the group of children.

The Mayor straightened his tie again.” Everyone! Here are your representatives! William Denbrough!” He called and held up Bill’s hand.

“ Beverly Marsh!” He cried and held up Beverly’s hand as well.

This went on until all of the kids had been introduced.

“ Now, citizens may go. Family of the representatives may wait outside to see your children.”

The kids remained silent, while the other citizens of Derry left the arena. 

The Mayor used his hand to beckon for the scared children to follow him. 

He led them to a small meeting room.

“ Why don’t you get to know each other. I’ll bring your families in shortly.” He said and left, closing the door. 

For a minute no one did anything, then Ben spoke up.

“ Hi...everyone. Well, I know this isn’t the best occasion to be meeting each other, but maybe we could do like an introduction game?” He suggested.

“ W-w-what duh-do you ma-mean?” Bill asked quietly.

“ I dunno. Like where we say our name and something about ourselves?” Ben said. He cursed himself when it came out like a question.

“ That sounds like a great idea, Haystack mah man!” Richie said enthusiastically. The enthusiasm was fake.

“ Okay.” Beverly sniffled.

Stanley nodded curtly and Mike flashed a small smile. 

“ Sure. Yeah. Okay.” Eddie stammered.

“ I’ll go first.” Ben said.” I’m Ben Hanscom, and I like to read.” 

Richie chuckled.” Nerd.” He said softly.

Ben glared.” I guess you’d like to go next?” He scoffed.

Richie smiled. “ Richie Tozier is my name, and doing voices is my game!” He cheered.

Bill raised his hand a little bit.” I-I’m Bill. A-and I ha-have a litt-little b-b-brother na-named Juh-Georgie.” He stuttered.

Everyone frowned, they hadn’t thought about their families yet. 

“ Well, my name is Eddie Kaspbrak. And I have a manipulative mother who made me think I was sick for my whole childhood.” He scoffed sarcastically.

“ That sounds awful, Eddie.” Bill sympathized.

“ Yeah, Eds. She sure didn’t seem that way when I climbed up into her window last ni-“

“ That’s disgusting Richie! And don’t call me Eds!” Eddie cried and flipped him off.

“ Enough! I’m Mike Hanlon and I live on a farm.” Mike interrupted the banter.

“ Nice to meet you.” Ben said pleasantly and gestured vaguely toward Stanley.

“ My name is Stanley Uris, but you can all call me Stan. I like birds.” The curly haired boy said softly.

Bill gaped and felt his cheeks heat up. How was Stan this cute? He turned away quickly.

“ My name is Beverly. I live with my Aunt.” Beverly sniffled.

Ben looked at Beverly. She was still crying but she looked almost angelic, her read hair framing her splotchy face perfectly.

“ Hey. Hey, it’s okay Beverly.” The chubby boy soothed and put a hand on her shoulder, Beverly looked up at him and smiled shyly.

Just then the door opened and the Mayor came back in followed by a small crowd of people.

Sonia Kaspbrak immediately ran towards Eddie and hugged him.

“ Oh! Eddie-Bear! My precious baby boy!” She bawled.

Eddie patted her back awkwardly.

Meanwhile the other families were reuniting too.

Sharon and Zack Denbrough were hugging Bill, while Georgie sat on his lap and cried into his brother’s shoulder.

Maggie and Wentworth Tozier were talking in hushed voices to Richie, Maggie had tears on her face.

Arlene Hanscom and Ben Hanscom were also hugging and Arlene was crying loudest of any of the other parents. Besides maybe Sonia.

Beverly’s aunt, Eileen Marsh was patting Beverly’s back as the little girl cried into her shoulder.

Mike Hanlon’s grandparents were talking to Mike in soothing voices and reassuring him that things may turn out okay.

Stanley Uris was sitting with straight posture as were his parents. They were silently staring at their feet.

There were lots of words going unsaid in the meeting room at that moment. Bigger things were about to happen but at least the selections could enjoy a moment of comfort before the storm.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This story is maybe going to be like twenty five or thirty chapters. Chapter eleven should be out tomorrow. Also I am going to try and make longer chapters from here on out, now that we’re getting into the plot. I didn’t know the name of Beverly’s aunt so I called her Eileen...I don’t hate it. Please comment if you like this story so far:)


	11. The Train

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi! I tried to focus this chapter on developing the characters so it isn’t super action packed, there is some light stenbrough but these two idiots can’t really get their feelings together so it’s noting crazy... hope you enjoy!

Some people with suits came in a couple of moments later and escorted the families out. Every one was silent after they had left.

It was silent, and no one tried to change that fact. 

It was silent, until the Mayor came back in.

“ Selections, please follow me to your train.” He said. 

Everyone stood. They followed the mayor out.

The Mayor led them to a giant train.

The doors opened and everyone stepped inside.

“ Now, children. There is a compartment for each of you. In them you will find a bathroom and a sleeping room. They are fully furnished, supper is in an hour.” The mayor informed.

They should have your name on the door. Please make yourselves comfortable.” He continued.

Bill, Ben, Richie and Stanley’s rooms were on one side and Mike, Beverly and Eddie’s were on the other side. 

Stanley watched as everyone else went inside their compartment and then he did too.

The room was a nice size with a large bed and a dresser.

The bathroom was pretty big as well.

Stanley noticed a crease in the blanket and immediately smoothed it out. The room was too dirty. There was a smudge on the bathroom mirror, and a stain on the white carpet, and the walls were suddenly closing in because Stanley Uris came to the realization that he was about to die.

There was no way that weak little Stanley could kill Pennywise the clown. There was no way that weak little Stanley could emerge this fight alive. There was no way that weak little Stanley could even survive this moment because everything was so goddamn close in this room that it almost felt suffocating. 

Stanley jumped at the feeling of a hand on his back. He turned and saw the kind, sweet, and concerned eyes of Bill Denbrough staring at him. 

“ I-I’m so-sorry f-f-for s-startling yo-you. I he-heard c-crying a-an-and I though-thought th-that I sh-should check i-it out.” He said.

Stanley turned to face the other direction. He hadn’t realized that he had been crying. It made sense, though. 

“ H-hey. It’s o-okay.” Bill said and sat down on the bed next to Stan.

“I’m sorry, Bill. I was just thinking that there’s no way I’m going to survive the games, and then the walls were closing in on me-“

“ I-it’s o-okay, S-Stan.” Bill cut in. “ I-I h-have n-no i-idea- c-c-curs-curse m-my stutt-stutter!” He cried half way through his sentence.

“ It doesn’t matter, Bill. I don’t mind, I think it’s kind of cute actually.” Stanley said with blush on his cheeks. Then his mind sped up. What! Did he actually just say that out loud? 

Bill blushed too, Stan thought his stutter was cute? Then maybe he didn’t hate it so much after all. 

“ Th-thanks. Any-anyways, I-I do-don’t kn-know wh-what’s go-going t-to hap-happen, b-but I th-think tha-that the-there’s a ch-chance w-we c-could w-win.” The stuttering boy said truthfully.

Stanley smiled, then Bill smiled and they enjoyed a comfortable silence.

Across the way, Eddie was thinking up a storm. What could he do? Eddie has always been considered the fragile boy in class, mostly due to his mother’s constant care and attention. Even though he knew that he wasn’t sick, why was he still panicking about the number of germs that could be in this room right now? 

Eddie sighed, and stripped. Then he hopped in the shower. It was warm and calming and almost took his mind off of the death sentence plaguing him and the other selection.

Even though there was a chance that the seven chosen children could survive, it wasn’t a big chance and getting picked was basically the worst possible thing that could happen to you. 

Eddie climbed out of the shower and opened one of the dresser drawers. In it were pants and shirts. They were plain. Some were tan, others were black but overall it was a bland wardrobe.

Eddie chose a black t-shirt and some black jeans. His subtle wavy hair was wet and unkempt but Eddie didn’t care. 

He sat on his bed and waited for the mayor to call for supper. 

It happened in about five minutes.

“ Supper! Everyone come to the dining car!” The mayors scratchy voice rang out.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you liked this chapter please comment!


	12. Dinner with the Mayor

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this is a pretty short one. I wanted this to be its own chapter but turns out that it was less eventful then I originally thought. I should be regularly posting at about 3:30-4:00 every day so expect a new chapter then.

The selections walked downstairs ( I need to start calling them something other than selections ) and went to the train car where supper was to be held.

The table was long and there was a lot of food on it. The room was large and it had a long velvet carpet.

“ Hello, selections. Dinner is on the table, please choose your seats.” He said regally.

Beverly sat as far away from the Mayor as she could. Ben sat next to her on side and Mike sat by her other side. Stan and Bill sat side by side. Stan was next to the mayor and he didn’t like it one bit. Eddie sat by Mike, and Richie sat by Eddie much to the shorter boy’s disdain.

“ Why do you need to sit right here?” He asked desperately.

“ Sorry, Eds but it’s the only seat left,” Richie shrugged.

Eddie scowled.” Don’t call me Eds!” 

“ Ohhh! You’re so cute when you’re angry!” Richie cooed. He reached over to pinch Eddie’s cheeks, but Eddie batted his hands away.

“ Don’t call me cute! I hate that!” He cried.

The Mayor held up a hand.” Now selections, there is no reason to start a row.”

Richie smirked and Eddie grumbled.

The Mayor clapped his hands and people with suits came out and served the food to all of the selections and the mayor.

“ Dinner is served.” He said and everyone dug in. 

The food was luxurious and tasty. The children were perfectly fine eating in silence, but the mayor clearly wanted to make conversation.

“ You have all gotten to know each other I presume.” He said.

Mike shrugged.” Only a little.” 

“ Very interesting. You do realize that you will have to learn to work well together if you want to defeat Pennywise.” The Mayor informed.

When no one said anything the Mayor kept talking.

“ Like, if you could possibly find something that you have in common?” 

It seemed as if time stopped, when every one of the selections opened their mouths and said the same three words. It was like slow motion and suddenly they all knew that maybe they were meant to find each other and maybe this wasn’t hopeless.

“ I’m a loser.” They all said and the rest of dinner was silent, but it wasn’t an uncomfortable silence. It was more of an I-get-it-now silence. 

The Mayor didn’t even say a word, as if he was also in awe of what had just happened. It was funny to watch his mouth open and close in shock, because he looked something like a fish.

After dinner the newly dubbed ‘ losers ‘ went back to their chambers and tried to fall asleep even though they couldn’t.

So really, every loser was staring at the ceiling of the train and listening to the soft noises outside while trying to quiet their own thoughts.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please comment if you liked it.


	13. Makeover Pt. 1

The next morning the train had arrived in the station. They were still in Derry but so close to the border that it couldn’t really be considered Derry, Maine. 

The games began in the Neibolt house, which was a gigantic building made of stone.

It was beautiful. Neibolt House was above Pennywise. He lived below it and that’s where the losers would go to fight him, and as they all stared at the building, they gulped air because for some reason it was hard to breathe.

“ Selections. Please follow me inside.” The mayor said.

The losers nodded and walked stiffly behind the Mayor.

He opened the big oak doors and revealed a large place with red carpet.

There was a giant staircase and a reception desk it seemed.

The mayor walked up to the desk and a lovely woman with black curls and green eyes smiled sweetly at him. She had on a tight red dress and black heels. There was also a golden bracelet in her wrist and a pin that said ‘ Neibolt Employee’ in fancy lettering.

“ Hello, Mayor Keene.” The losers all looked at each other in surprise, they had never known the Mayor’s name before now.

“ Good morning, Patricia.” He said and straightened his tie.

“ I’ve told you before, Mayor Keene. Call me Patty.”

He nodded,” Well then. Good morning... Patty. I’ll need to speak to Audra Phillips. The selections are scheduled to see her.”

Patty nodded and smiled before tapping on phone keys with her red painted nails. She picked it up and spoke into the receiver.

“ Hello, is this Audra Phillips? Yes. The new selections. Of course, I’ll tell him. Yes, goodbye Audra.” She said and hung up the phone.

“ Ms. Phillips will see you all in a few moments please wait over there.” Patty told the children and pointed to some comfy looking chairs.

Mayor Keene went to the chairs and selected one close to the door. Stanley sat beside him, and Beverly sat beside him.

Then Mike sat beside Beverly and Ben sat beside Mike. Leaving Eddie to sit by Richie, and Bill to sit by Eddie.

“ You seem like you were once close with Patty.” Stanley said quietly to Mayor Keene. The mayor nodded solemnly.

“ A long time ago. We were close, but when I became Mayor, I didn’t have time for a woman like Patricia.”

“ What do you mean ‘a woman like Patricia’?” Stanley asked curiously.

“ I couldn’t be around Patricia because I... well I loved her. I couldn’t be around a woman that I loved so dearly because my work needed to come first, so I distanced myself and now I only see her when I bring the selections to Audra Phillips for their makeovers.” 

“ Oooh. Mayor Keene getting some action ladies and gentleman!” Richie said, but everyone ignored him.

Stanley made eye contact with Mayor Keene. “ Makeover?” He raises his eyebrows. And suddenly everyone was listening. 

“ It’s not so much of a makeover for you boys, but it is for Ms. Marsh. Boys, you’ll be getting a wash and some new clothes. Beverly you will get some makeup and a dress your hair will be styled. It’s just for the chariot rides later this evening.” Mayor Keene told them with a gentle smile.

The losers didn’t know if they had ever seen Mayor Keene smile. His guarded personality was actually quite nice if you got to know him.

Then a pretty lady came running out looking like a million bucks.

She was absolutely stunning and looked friendly. Her red locks were tied up in a messy bun, with some coils coming down and framing her angular face. She had deep red lipstick and light freckles. Her eyes were a sparkling blue, she had on a big dress that was teal in color and ruffled slightly, there was a measuring tape in her pocket and a pencil in her hair. She had the same pin as Patty did.

“ Mayor Keene.” She greeted politely and held out her hand. The Mayor stood up and shook it before gesturing to the losers.

“ Meet our selections. Bill Denbrough, Beverly Marsh, Ben Hanscom, Stanley Uris, Mike Hanlon, Richie Tozier, and Eddie Kaspbrak.” He said and Audra waved politely.

Richie shot her finger guns and she blew him a playful kiss.

“ I’m Audra Phillips, you cuties better follow me and we’ll leave Mayor Keene alone with Ms. Blum over there.” She teased.

Everyone cracked a smile except for Mayor Keene.

Audra then bustled off and the losers followed her. 

She led them to a large room with a giant wardrobe and a vanity ( a table used for applying makeup ) and a tub surrounded by some curtains. 

“ Now, I’d like to see if I can get two of you done at a time, so I’ll need to get Sandy and Kay to help me. Wait a moment, will you?” 

“Sure thing, Doll.” Richie said and Audra walked out ruffling his hair on the way.

Audra came back in shortly followed by two other women.

One of them had blonde hair and brown eyes, with a sweet smile. The other one had short brown hair and hazel eyes.

“ I’m Sandy, and this is Kay, it’s lovely to meet you.” The blonde one said and the brunette waved.

“ I think we just might be able to do three of you at a time.” Audra smiled and her eyes shone.

“ Sandy, darling. Would you run a bath for Bev, please.”

Beverly smiled at the nickname.

“ Of course, Audra. Follow me Bev.” She said happily.

“ Okay.” Beverly complied.

“ Which if you wants to find your outfit?” Audra asked the losers.

“ Me! Me!” Richie called wildly and jumped up and down waving his hands all over the place.

Audra giggled and Kay took Richie by the arm and walked him to the wardrobe.

“ Stanley, dear? Would you mind following me, it looks like Richie is about done choosing some clothes,” Audra said and Stanley nodded.

“ I’m afraid you all will have to wait until Bev is finished in the tub, to begin your glow ups but feel free to sit over there.” Audra winked and gestures to a sitting area in the corner of the room.

The remaining losers who weren’t getting glammed up went to sit in the corner and stared at their feet everything was moving so fast, and soon enough they would all be underground but not yet. Not yet.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi guys. I’m sorry my update was a little late today but some personal problems have arisen and I have to take a quick little hiatus for the week. I’m sorry for those of you who enjoy this story. Please don’t abandon me. I know I have a pretty small fan base at the moment, but I value your comments and kudos. I will be back posting daily around next Sunday hopefully. I’ll miss you all and please check out my one shot ‘ Dark ‘ it would mean a lot. Quick shout out to 94marioona for leaving me super sweet and motivational comments. You’ll have to wait until next week to see how our losers turn out after their makeovers. I’ll still do my best to reply to any comments that I receive but I won’t be able to do any serious writing this week, I apologize. I will be back in full swing soon enough with new chapters and other fics. Bye for now, Adley.


	14. Makeover pt.2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey bitches! I’m back with another chapter, sorry it was a little late. I will be going out of town next Monday, so posts may be more spread out. I hope you like this chapter!

Sandy went to check on Beverly a few minutes later and brought a towel with her. Both came out the latter with a towel up wrapped around her.

All of the boys tried to look anywhere but her, and they were blushing madly.

Sandy brought Beverly over to the wardrobe just as Stanley was leaving with a bundle of clothes in hand.

“ Here, pick a dress sweetie. I’m going to run a bath for Bill.” She said and moved away.

Beverly looked at the dresses and started to card through them, there were some of all colors and shapes. But, Beverly didn’t wear dresses so she didn’t know what to pick at all.

Audra seemed to notice that she was struggling because she went over and stood beside the younger girl.

“ Need some help, Bev?” Audra asked gently.

“ I never wore dresses, before.” Beverly admitted albeit sheepishly.

Audra just smiled softly. “ Let me,” she said and tilted Beverly’s chin up.

After a second of thoughtful consideration on Audra’s part, the woman spoke up.” Green or black would go best, Let’s take a look.” 

They looked through the dresses on the rack until Audra picked out an emerald green one. It was beautiful.

Beverly felt herself smiling. She liked the dress, it was pretty.

Audra smiled too and gestured vaguely toward the boys.

“ I better go help them, you can change over there in the dressing room, okay?” 

Beverly nodded and took the dress over to a small closet sized room. 

She looked over to the boys before closing the door and saw Richie getting his black curls brushed by Kay, and Eddie was now standing beside the wardrobe, his brown hair was wet, and Beverly suspected he had just finished bathing because a towel was loosely around his waist. Bill was sitting on a stool by the vanity and Sandy was addressing his fine red hair. Stanley was nowhere in sight so he was probably bathing right now. Mike and Ben were chatting quietly in some chairs. Bev closed the changing room door and put in the green dress quickly. She bundled up the towel and tried to brush through her hair a little bit with her fingers.

When she reopened the door, Eddie was behind it, clothes held to his chest.

She smiled a little bit and moved to the side so he could enter. Eddie closed the door.

Audra waved Beverly over to the vanity, it seemed like Bill was done.

“ You look gorgeous, Bev!” Audra cheered as the former approached her.

“ Thank-you.” Beverly said quietly, blush forming on her cheeks. 

“ Sit.” Audra commanded and Beverly complied.

Audra brushes through her hair a little bit and thought of how to style it. She ultimately decided braid. She left Beverly’s wispy bangs out of the tie and when it was finished she looked amazing. 

Bev looked at herself. She beamed, Audra put the hairbrush down and Beverly stood.

“ You look amazing. Now let me go and finish getting those boys ready.” The older woman said with a chuckle.

Chaos ensued, but by the end of the night everyone was dressed, even if they weren’t smiling.


	15. Chariots

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey bitches! I’m back. I hope you missed me!! I know I said I would update last week, but I was out of town and with school starting it was stressful. I’m sorry. That being said now that I have school updates will be more sparse like twice or three times a week. Enough of that, I hope you like this chapter. It’s short and I’m high on Gatorade so it’s probably crack but enjoy:)

Richie was wearing a navy blue suit and a colorful tie with dress shoes. His hair was slicked back and his glasses were switched out with some differently shaped ones of the same prescription. He had some eyeliner on in a long wing.

Eddie had on a black suit and a black tie, his brown hair was brushed. He was wearing black shoes with pink socks for a little color pop. Audra had given him some pink eyeshadow and body glitter on his cheeks.

Ben had on a light blue suit with a light blue tie. He looked dashing with hair gel.

Mike had a red suit on with no tie. The jacket wasn’t buttoned give a more relaxed look. He had on black shoes and and golden bracelets.

Stan had on a blue polo shirt and khakis, he had a black belt and his curls were stylized. 

Bill was wearing a black suit similar to Richie but he had a black tie. He was sporting a silver necklace chain and his already pierced ears were strung with silver studs.

Beverly was wearing her green dress, with some gold jewelry, and sandals.

The chariot rides were in an hour. In an hour the losers would be presented like some kind of science project and everyone would look at them and take pity, or look at them and make prayers, like they did every year. Except these specific children had never been on the receiving end.

Audra and Sandy and Kay has led them all back out to the lobby with Patty and Mayor Keene.

Patty had grinned and complemented them all and Mayor Keene even smiled a little bit, even though it was more of a sad smile than a happy one.

The losers sat in the comfortable chairs, like they had before. And made small talk, like they had before. Mostly it was Richie pestering Eddie and proceeding to contradict him when he chuckled and said ‘ you’re so cute when you’re angry, Eds’. 

It was overall amusing and the rest of the losers laughed, and scowled along with Eddie because there was nothing better to do while waiting for the chariots to arrive.

Mayor Keene told them that there would be two to a chariot, and that Beverly would ride with him.

The pairings were Ben and Stan, Eddie and Bill, and Richie and Mike. They were to stand and wave when their names were called. 

It sounded simple enough.

When the chariots arrived the losers paired up and sat down on the benches that were featured in every chariot.

The outside of the chariots was identical, black with some swirls. Making the losers look like some strange form of Cinderella. 

The ride was from Neibolt house, to the Derry Capitol where they would be introduced.

Everyone’s chariot was silent, except for Richie and Mike’s. Richie kept making your mom jokes ( ‘ once I took your mother on a chariot ride, just like this. She was so happy when we got back to your place- Richie stop’ ) and Mike kept reprimanding him to shut up.

When they got near the Capitol, the losers all quieted, even Richie. Eventually the introductions came.

“ Our 27th annual games have begun. Please welcome the selections! First we have Richard Tozier!” Richie visibly cringed at his real name and stood in the chariot to wave to everyone. When he sat down the caller announced everyone else similarly and it was over all uneventful.

But by the end of the night everyone was exhausted anyways. They all went back to Neibolt, where they had rooms to stay in until the games. They all stripped, put in some pajamas found in the individual dressers and everyone was asleep before their heads hit the pillow. ( which was incredibly soft, by the way)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I want to start a new multi chapter fic, so if you have any suggestions or ships you want me cover, leave a comment. There is a list of fandoms in my bio and you can request a fic for any one of them:) I want to write what you want me to write!


	16. Training Time Pt.1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! Here’s a couple chapters! I was working on them on and off for the past few days. Please comment if you like them! Anyways, I apologize in advance for mistakes, I know there in there somewhere! Thanks for your constant support!

Everyone slept well that night, but then morning came. At breakfast, Mayor Keene said that there was some training happening that afternoon and asked if any of the losers had any preference on which weapon they’d like to use.

Mike said he was good with a handgun, and Beverly shyly admitted that she was also a good shot. Richie of course went on and on about his skills. It probably wasn’t true, but no one said anything. He would make a fool of himself later.

Eddie, Ben, Stanley, and Bill didn’t claim to have any specific preference. Mayor Keene suggested that they try out everything and see which they’d like to use down under Neibolt.

Each contestant got one weapon. They trained for two days with their chosen weapons and after they trained, they went to fight the clown.  
Which meant that the losers had two days. Two days. Before their doom, and boy were they unprepared.

So after a hearty lunch, Patty took the losers down to a room with metal walls. It was intense, because there were racks and racks on different weaponry. There were guns and chains and knives and even a giant baseball bat.

Richie made eyes at it, and Patty ( now wearing a sleek black jumpsuit with her hair tied up ) gestured for Richie to grab it if he wanted to.

He did and twirled it around in his hands. It felt right. Like the bat was made to fit there. He looked up at his fellow losers and saw them all around the metal room. Bill was looking at the chains and nunchucks. Stanley was looking at the knives with Eddie.

Beverly was over by the shotguns, and Mike was looking at the rifles. He was handling a lever action rifle and Bev was holding a silver pistol that looked sleek and new. She grinned at it and went off to some targets in the corner of the room.

Ben was looking flamethrowers. Richie smiled and walked over to him.

“ Didn’t think Benny Boy here could handle such a weapon.” He smirked and Ben turned to him blushing.

“ Well, I like it.” He said.

“ Oooookkkk.” Richie drawled and went over to Eddie and Stan.

“ Hey Eds.” Eddie turned around and a big saw like knife was in his hand. Richie tried not to be nervous.

“ Don’t call me that.” Eddie said and glanced at his knife suggestively.

“ What are you gonna do, stab me?” Richie asked and Eddie glared.

“ I won’t hesitate, bitch.” He said and Richie grinned crookedly.

Stan looked at them from beside Eddie.” Would you two just kiss already?” He groaned.

Richie looked at him anxiously. What? Kiss Eddie? He hadn’t thought about that before! Why was Stan saying this? Did he flirt with Eddie? Richie just thought he was teasing him. 

He looked at Eddie who had red cheeks and then the smaller boy turned on his heel.

“ F-Fuck off, Uris.” He said, but the stutter made it not very effective.

Richie made his way over to Patty. Thinking about Eddie’s red cheeks and ears. His big brown eyes, and cute little button nose. He was so cute- Wait. Wait. Richie furrowed his brow. He was gay and he had just basically called Eddie cute. In his head of course, but still. Then Richie shut his eyes.

He liked Eddie and that was that. Richie continued to make his way over to Patty. 

He was so fucked.


	17. Training Time Pt.2

Finally everyone had picked a weapon that they wanted to try. Richie has his bat. Eddie had a long blade. Bill had nunchucks. Stanley had little throwing knives. Ben had his flamethrower. Bev had a pistol and Mike had a huge ass revolver.

Patty was standing in front of some target. 

“ Mike, Beverly, go ahead and try to hit the targets.” She said.

The targets were metal and there was little pings where past bullets had hit them. They placed bullets in the guns.

Mike looked at Bev who signaled for him to go first. He cocked the gun and leveled it. The he shot and almost hit the bullseye. About an inch away.

Everyone applauded and Mike looked at Beverly who had a smug smile on her face. She was looking his direction. She cocked the gun and shot. Hit it straight on.

Mike was awestruck. 

Bev flipped the gun and grinned at the rest of the losers who were staring at her wide eyes. Patty didn’t look impressed.

“ Beverly you should look at the target. Firearms are dangerous.” She said.

Richie gaped.” Are you kidding! That was badass! Bev your a master!” He cried and Beverly giggled.

Patty sighed.

“ Okay, you guys keep going. Everyone else follow me!” Patty said and the rest of the losers besides Mike and Beverly went with her.

“ Okay. Here’s some wooden targets for Stanley. Your going to be throwing knives. Richie, you can use the batting cage over there. Bill take your nunchucks over there. Ben please come with me to an enclosed space to use your weapon.” Patty explained and everyone went to their assigned places. Ben and Eddie stayed. 

“ Eddie, I’m going to call a personal trainer to help you with this knife. You’ll need to know how to block things with it and regular offenses.” Patty told him and Eddie nodded.

“ Ben follow me.” She said and Ben followed the woman to a large steel room. 

“ Use those targets. This room has nothing flammable in it but please be careful anyways.”

Ben nodded and Patty left, closing the steel door behind her.

She went over to an intercom in the corner of the training room.

“ Ms.Starrett. Please report to training. I Repeat, Ms. Starrett please report to training.”

Eddie glanced over at Patty. She must be getting him his personal trainer. Then he glanced over at Richie in a batting cage, hitting balls left and right. He looked good. Eddie thought glancing at the taller boys ass. Eddie immediately jerked his gaze away. That was so gross. Looking at his friends butt. Eddie gagged and pulled out his inhaler which was in his pocket. 

He blasted the medicine down his throat and looked anywhere besides Richie.

Patty came back a moment later with a tall woman.

“ I’ll let you two practice.” She said and waved.

“ Well, hello Eddie. I’m Barbara. Barbara Starrett.”

Eddie smiled and shook her hand.

“ Let’s get to work.” Barbara said and took Eddie’s knife for inspection.

“ This is a nice blade, but if you don’t know how to use it, it’ll be near useless.” Barbara said. She had black hair and bangs. Her eyes were big and insightful. She looked smart.

Eddie nodded, he was still kind of freaked about the Richie accident. He forced himself to focus on the task at hand. If he couldn’t use this thing he’d die and that was a fact. He blocked out the gunshot noises and listened to Barbara.

She fought him how to swing the blade and how to not decapitate yourself. She was a good teacher. 

After a while they moved on to dummies. She used the blade to cut up the plush dummy. He did the same. Barbara smiled.

Eddie glanced at the chopped up dummy. He felt pride swell in his chest. He could beat the living crap out of that motherfucking clown- oh wait. Eddie sucked in a breath. For a moment he had forgotten who he was up against. 

Eddie turned back to Barbara and continued to practice.

Across the room, Beverly shot another bullet into the target. 

She was getting bored. Her father taught her how to shoot when she was just a little girl and she had been a master ever since.

Bev glanced around the room, everyone was still training. Stanley threw a knife into a wooden target and hit it perfectly. Bill was spinning his nunchucks in complicated looking movements. Richie was hitting baseballs into a net. She couldn’t see Ben but she knew he was playing with fire. Eddie was beating up a dummy. Mike kept shooting and eventually got the hang of the revolver and now he was hitting each target perfectly. Beverly went back to shooting.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comment if you like it!


	18. Chill Time

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hiya friends! Sorry this took so long, schools a bitch. Anyways in this chapter I mainly focused on character development and giving the losers some chill time. I swear I will get into the action of this story soon, I’m sorry if you guys have been waiting for that. About the movies in this chapter: Children of the Corn, Pet Semetary, and Flowers in the Attic. Children of the Corn is my very favorite movie and the other two are ones I’ve watched recently. I apologize that these don’t match up with the timeline of the story but it is a fiction work, so I can do what I want with it. If any of you were wondering the age of the losers throughout this story they are 14/15. Sorry for not clarifying that originally. Anyways, thanks for sticking with me so far and I will try to update at least once more this week. There are some homophobic slurs in this chapter if that bothers anyone, and this is set in Beverly’s room if that wasn’t obvious. On with the chapter!

Eddie was thoroughly exhausted by the time training was over, and so was everyone else. 

Richie was droopy, instead of his usually chirpy self. Beverly was practically non responsive, Stanley was napping, in between Bill and Mike, and they were struggling to stay awake themselves. Ben was ‘resting’ with his eyes shut.

Here’s how it went, training was finished and everyone had picked their final weapon. Richie has his bat, Eddie picked his knife, Bev chose her pistol, Mike went for his revolver, Ben kept his flamethrower, Bill chose his nunchucks, and Stanley got his throwing knives. After training was over, the losers were supposed to have a hearty dinner and prepare for tomorrow. The last full day before the battle. After dinner everyone went back to Beverly’s room to hang out.

They were all nervous. For some it wasn’t quite so obvious, like Beverly, how she would laugh loudly at everything stupid that Richie said and grin shyly tucking a piece of hair behind her ear when she caught Ben glancing at her. And Mike, he would remain mostly silent, but have a contemplative look to his face that wasn’t fear, no it was acceptance. It looked like he had accepted his fate and was figuring out what to do about it. Then there was Richie, who’s eyes were filled with trepidation but he remained with that cheesy goofy smile touching his lips, he continually teased Eddie and from afar it looked like he might not be worried at all. Bill was similar, he held concern in his eyes, but managed to maintain conversation with the losers, and also managed to remain strong through Richie’s terrible jokes.

But there were some losers who weren’t doing so well in terms of coping with the games. Eddie was nervously shaking most of the night. Stanley was worse though, he seemed to get more shaky and afraid every second. Bill and Ben tried to calm him down, but he couldn’t shake the fear. Ben wasn’t too bad, but Stanley seemed to rub off on him, and he wasn’t at his fullest.

That’s when Beverly decided that this had to stop. Sure, they were scared, but the games weren’t beginning until the day after tomorrow. 

“ Let’s watch a movie!” She shouted randomly over Richie’s constant chatter.

Everyone looked at her. She shrugged.

“ Everyone looks like they need a movie night! Including me!” She exclaimed, excitement evident in her voice.

“ Well, if you’re sure. We’d have to go ask Mayor Keene.” Mike pointed out and Beverly nodded.

“ Benny?” She asked sweetly,” Would you come with me to Mayor Keene’s room?” 

Ben blushes, cornered his eyes and nodded.

Beverly leaned over and kissed his cheek, causing his blush to deepen.

Beverly took his hand and they went down the hall to the Mayor’s chambers.

That left the other losers to chat. Richie immediately reached over and pinched Eddie’s cheeks, he batted his hands away and scowled.

“ Don’t do that, I hate it when you do that!” Eddie yelled and Richie laughed.

“ I know Eds, but you’re just so cute!” Richie replied to Eddie’s dismay.

“ No I’m not! You asshole!” Eddie looked astounded.

Richie shrugged nonchalantly, “ That’s not what your mother said last night, in fact she was really insistent about her assho-“

Eddie cut him off with a hand, his face was red and his eyes were pinched.

Stanley looked at Bill, who was watching Richie and Eddie in amusement. He looked over at Mike, who was watching the door for Ben and Beverly.

Stanley shuddered, how were they so okay with this? That they were dying in two days? Stanley didn’t know.

He forced himself to stop overreacting. If Bill, and Mike were okay then he should be too. Maybe a movie would take his mind off of the upcoming events.

He hoped so.

Stanley looked over at Richie and Eddie who were now yelling over each other.

“- My mother Richard! My mother!”

Richie grinned at Eddie’s apparent protest and shrugged,” Yeah, and I’m your father, what are you going to do about it?” He teased.

“ You motherfucker!” Eddie cried and pushed Richie.

Richie laughed manically.” That’s exactly right, Eds. I’m a mother fucker. Get it, because I fucked your mom?” He grinned brilliantly.

Eddie shut his eyes tightly and breathed slowly as if he was trying not to pummel Richie.

Thankfully, Ben and Beverly got back before that could happen.

“ Oh, losers! We’ve brought movies and Popcorn!” Beverly sang as she threw open the door.

Richie and Eddie immediately turned away from each other, going to sit by the others on the couch.

“ W-what mov-movies do y-you g-got Beh-Beverly?” Bill stuttered.

“ Pet Semetary, Flowers in the Attic, and Children of the Corn.” She listed.

“ That was what Mayor Keene had, so we took all three.” Ben said and Bev smiled.

“ What should we watch first?” Mike asked as Ben handed him a bowl of popcorn.

“ We should turn off the light first,” Richie said and ran to the switch, before taking his spot beside Eddie.

“ Let’s start with ‘Flowers in the Attic’ and move through each one in a scale of how scary it is.” Stanley suggested, needing them to agree. He needed it to be organized.

They all nodded and Mike plucked Flowers in The Attic from Beverly’s hand, inserting it into the DVD player.

They watched the movie mostly in silence. Eddie has almost unconsciously moved closer to Richie with every passing minute. The characters in this movie reminded him entirely too much of his mom.

Richie threw an arm around Eddie’s shoulder. He liked this movie, it wasn’t his favorite but he had always thought the concept was intriguing.

Beverly was scrunched up right next to Ben and Mike was on her other side. They seemed engrossed in the movie, so Beverly ultimately decided it was okay to take Ben’s hand in her own.

Mike was stone faced while watching the movie. He liked watching movies, and he hadn’t done it since the selecting ceremony.

Ben blushes as he felt Beverly’s nimble fingers around his thicker ones. He was glad it was dark and no one could see him blushing.them.

Bill has seen this movie before and he watched until the end where the little boy was killed, this part reminded him too much of Georgie. He didn’t know what he would do if Georgie died.

Stanley watched the movie quietly. He wasn’t really paying good attention though. His thoughts were scattered, and his mind was only trying to keep up with the speed in which things were moving.

When the movie ended, Beverly silently put in Children of the Corn, one of her favorite movies, and sat back down.

This movie went by more quickly than the others, and there was no talking ( Well except at the beginning in the first scene when the wife gave her husband a scalpel for his birthday, Richie said something like,” Your mom gave me a lot more than a little knife on my birthday.” Which caused Eddie to kick him, hard )

As the movie went on it got more and more bothersome, and Eddie found himself curling further into Richie, almost subconsciously. 

Richie didn’t seem to notice the change and didn’t make a single perverted joke, maybe because he secretly liked it just as much as the other boy did.

Then when the movie was over, and Beverly turned on the light to put in Pet Semetary, Richie looked at his and Eddie’s position. 

Eddie was lying in the crook of Richie’s neck, with his short legs on Richie’s lap.

Richie remembered that day, when Victor Criss was chasing him, yelling awful things at his back. Richie remembered hiding in the barrens, and then running home an hour later. Victor had caught up to him, and punched the shit out of Richie.

He looked at Eddie who was now watching the tv in interest.

“ I got to go to the bathroom.” Richie murmured and Eddie hummed in response. 

Richie untangled himself and ran to Beverly’s bathroom.

It was bigger than all of the boys bathrooms. Richie was grateful. It didn’t feel like the walls were closing in.

Richie sat by the toilet and could hear muffled screams from the movie. 

You fag

Richie closed his eyes and his breath quickened.

Fucking queer

Richie grabbed something toilet paper and wiped his sweaty brow.

Dirty, rotten, sick, disgraceful-

Richie put the paper in the toilet and flushed, he washed his hands even though he didn’t really go.

Then he walked back out and sat farther away from Eddie.

Faggot faggot faggot faggot faggot faggot faggot faggot faggot faggot faggot faggot.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please comment if you liked it!!


	19. A Heart to Heart

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Me again! This is really fucking short and I wanted to do Benverly originally, but since I gave you guys some reddie last chap I wanted to tie up some loose ends. This is what you all have been waiting for!! Enjoy it babes!

After the movie was over, everyone went back to their rooms. Tomorrow was going to be packed with preparation and there was no way that the losers would be caught half asleep.

Richie went to his room and went into the bathroom. It was smaller than Beverly’s but it would do.

Richie actually used the restroom this time, and then splashed some water on his face.

Then the boy changed into some pajamas and lay down on his bed. He shit his eyes and tried to fall asleep but he couldn’t. No, because there was too much on his mind. 

Richie rolled over and looked out the window. The night was dark and there was nothing in sight. 

Richie sighed deeply and got up, going out of his room and down the hallway. The dining room was empty.

Richie sat down in a chair that was pushed into the long and elegant table. He propped his head up with his hands and stared at the wall, trying to make sense of everything.

But then there was a little, breathy yawn. Richie turned around swiftly and his blue eyes were met with brown doe ones and an upturned nose.

“ Shit, Ed’s you scared the crap outta me.” Richie said, catching his breath.

“ Sorry.” Eddie said sympathetically and reached for a cup, filling it with some water.

“ What are you doing up?” Richie asked.

Eddie shrugged, “Couldn’t sleep.” 

Richie nodded, “Same.” He said.

Eddie sat Dow in the chair beside the taller boy and they remained silent for a moment when Eddie spoke softly.

“ Penny for your thoughts?” 

Richie smiled softly, “ I’m gay.” He said suddenly, catching both himself and Eddie by surprise.

Richie put a hand over his mouth in surprise.

“ Shit! Oh fuck! I didn’t mean to say that! Dammit! O gawd!” He cried.

But Eddie shook his head frantically. “ Richie it’s okay! I am too!” He said, causing Richie to widen his eyes even further.

“ Y-You are?” He whispered.

Eddie nodded, “ I am.”

Richie shook his head, as if trying to snap himself out of a trance.

“ You don’t think I’m gross? You don’t think I’m a huge ass faggot?” He asked almost concerned, concerned that Eddie wouldn’t think these things were true.

But Eddie shook his head.” No, you aren’t. Being gay is not a sickness. It is not something to be ashamed of. It really isn’t. We should be proud of our sexuality.” 

Richie found himself nodding. “ Are you sure?” He asked.

“ Yes.” Eddie said in confirmation.

“ Eddie?” Richie said after a moment.

“ Yeah?” Eddie asked.

“ I fucked your mom.” Richie replied simply, causing both him and Eddie to burst into peals of laughter.

“ Y-you ass-asshat!” Eddie exclaimed through his giggles.

“ Hey Eds?” Richie said.

“ Yeah?” Eddie answered.

Then, Richie leaned forward and connected their lips. 

Eddie kissed back. Then they both pulled away, the need for air overpowering their want to keep kissing.

“ Thanks.” Richie said, and Eddie smiled, kissing him again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comment if you liked it!


	20. A Morning With Mike Hanlon

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi! Sorry for the wait! I decided to do this chapter from Mikes POV because I just feel like I haven’t given him enough attention!

Mike woke up to a soft light entering his room through the window.

He groaned, thinking that he must have forgotten to shut it last night.

Mike stood groggily and shut the blinds, effectively blocking the light from reaching the dark comfort of the cozy room. 

Mike laid back down, thinking jovially that that this was probably the last morning that he’d be alive to witness. 

He wasn’t bothered by it, he had already accepted his fate and began to understand that there was nothing he could do to change it. But there was always a chaste thought in Mikes mind that there was something special about this year. Something special about this years selections. Something that might make everything okay again. Something that might end this dreadful tradition. 

Mike sighed, chasing that thought from his head. He couldn’t get his hopes up. He just couldn’t. Mike rolled over and buried his head in the pillow, drifting off to sleep once again.

The next time he woke up, it was much later in the day. Mike sat up and looked at the little metal clock on the bed table and saw that it was ten thirty seven am. Mike shrugged. He didn’t really care how late it was, it was his last day alive after all, so he should get to sleep as late as his heart desired. The next time Mike woke up, he was in a world of emotional turmoil. Mike sighed and put his head in his hands. He knew he said he wasn’t bothered by the upcoming games, but the awful nightmare he just had spoke otherwise. 

Mike shook his head, as if willing the awful thoughts to disappear if he might have shook hard enough, but it didn’t help. 

Mike thought it best to distract himself.

Breakfast. 

Mike laughed a little, completely and utterly amazed that such a small thing, of breakfast, could almost bring him to tears. 

He stood up, threw on some clothes and exited the room, passing by the other losers bed chambers on the way. He didn’t know if they were up yet, but that was okay. Mike would see them later.

When he entered the kitchen, there was a feast on the table. Really, there was.

Bacon, and eggs, and toast, and French toast, and fruit, and bagels, and waffles, and pancakes, and orange juice, and more.

Richie was at the table, looking a little off. His head was resting on his hand and his eyes were unfocused, and his mouth held an almost giddy grin. As if something wonderful had happened, and Richie’s mind was still dwelling over it. 

“ Morning, Rich.” Mike said, and Richie snapped up.

“ Mikey! Oh golly, is it nice to see you on this fine mornin’!” He said using a voice.

Mike laughed good-naturedly as Richie pushed his glasses up on his nose and gestured to the seat beside him.

Mike sat down and started loading his plate with food.

“ Where d’ya think Mayor Keene is?” Richie asked, stuffing a whole sausage in his mouth.

“ I dunno.” Mike responded, eating his sausage a little more evenly.

“ Hello, boys.” Another voice interrupted the brief conversation. It was Beverly.

Mike turned to get a look at her. Beverly looked pretty, as always. Not as forced as the chariot might, but still stunning and natural.

Her shoulder length red hair was curling at the ends, subtly, and she was wearing a white blouse and some brown khaki pants.

“ Good morning, Miss Beverly! Ah say, ah say!” Richie exclaimed, pronouncing Beverly as Bev-uh-lee.

Beverly giggled, the noise making Mike swell up inside. He loved Beverly, not so much in a romantic way, but he loved her.

“ Good Morning Richie! Morning Mike!” She exclaimed, voice sweet.

“ Good morning Beverly.” Mike said and she grinned at him before making her way over to the table gracefully and sitting down across from Richie. 

“ Wait what’s this?” She asked, looking a little white sheet of paper stuck between two biscuits.

“ Well, fuck. I guess I didn’t notice it.” Richie said thoughtfully, as Beverly plucked the paper from the biscuits.

“ Selections, meet me and Miss Phillips in the waiting room at noon. Miss Phillips providing you with your jumpsuits. Please be punctual. From, Mayor Keene.” Beverly read.

“ Okay, well, it’s 10:45. We might want to wake the others soon, for them to have time to eat and get ready.” Mike pointed out. 

“ We should wake them in fifteen minutes if they’re not already up.” Beverly said.

Mike nodded and went to put his plate beside the sink.

The next one to wake was Stanley, who seemed embarrassed that he had slept passed ten, because that apparently was not regular for him. In all fairness, yesterday had been a long day, and it was normal to sleep for a while after a long day. Stanley seemed a little jumpy, and slightly sad, but that was also fair, for obvious reasons.

No one else woke up before eleven, so Richie volunteered to go and wake the others, receiving various shouts of anger( ‘Richard, you can’t just jump on people like that, fuck,’ and ‘ H-Holy shi-shit, R-Richie, w-warn a g-guy bef-ore y-you d-do th-that, ).

After the other losers were all finished with breakfast, they made their way to the waiting room. 

Mike couldn’t help but notice that Eddie was acting weird. He kept looking at Richie, but whenever Richie looked back- Eddie’s eyes darted somewhere else. 

Mike supposed her was just nervous, since the games began soon. He didn’t really read into it.

“ Hey guys? Do you think the jumpsuits will look good?” Beverly asked as they neared the waiting room.

Richie snorted, “ As good as Eddie’s mother looked last night.”

Eddie scrunched you his face in disgust. “ C’mon Rich, that’s gross.” He spat out.

Richie just chuckled and threw an arm around Eddie’s shoulder, as if he needed someone to lean on so that he didn’t fall to the floor in laughter. 

Eddie shoved his arm off, and Mike swore he could see a little blush on his cheeks. He brushed it off as nothing. He heard Stanley scoff, even though it seemed like he scoffed at everything Richie did.

When the losers reached the waiting room, they saw Patty leaning against the front desk. She was wearing a tight black dress, and her curls were piled atop her head in a messy bun. There was a pen in her hand and she appeared to be writing something down.

“ Mornin Patty,” Mike greeted on the way in, and she looked up at them.

“ Good Morning everyone.” She said, a small smile wrinkling her face. 

“ We’re supposed to meet Audra and Mayor Keene, have you seen em?” Richie asked impatiently, leaning his elbow on her desk and giving his most charming smile. 

Patty grinned teasingly, “ Can’t say I have, want me to call Ms Phillips?” 

Mike turned around as Stanley looked at his watch, it was 12:02.

Bill looked over his shoulder, before looking back at Patty.

“ Yuh-Yeah, may-maybe.” He said and Patty clicked a number into the phone, holding it up to her ear.

“ Audra? Oh, sure. Sounds good. Oh? Yes, I’ll tell them, I promise.” Patty finished and put the phone back down.

She tore off a piece of paper from her notebook. 

“ There’s been a change of plans. You’re meeting in Mayor Keene’s office. Here’s some directions.” She told them and wrote something down on the paper. 

Eddie took the paper and they all thanked Patty before heading off.


	21. A Moment In Time

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I tried to make this chapter longer as a sort of apology for the wait, but I don’t think I succeeded. Anyways enjoy! Ships almost sail,, so have fun with that!!

When the losers entered Mayor Keene’s office, they were surprised. They weren’t really sure what they were expecting in the first place, but it certainly wasn’t a nice leather couch, and an oak desk with a swivel chair, and a bookshelf littered with photographs. It was nice, sort of cozy.

The losers also noticed none other than Audra Phillips, sitting on said desk with her legs dangling off the front. 

“ Ah, you’ve made it. I trust Patricia gave you the correct instructions?” The Mayor asked formally from where he was seated on the couch.

Bill nodded, “ Yuh-yes, sh--she did.” He stepped over to the bookcase, along with Stanley and Ben.

“ Is this your daughter?” Stanley asked softly after a moment, pointing to a little pocket sized image in a silver frame. The picture was of a girl, who couldn’t be older than fifteen. She was sitting on the ground next to a bunch of fallen leaves. Her hair was long and blonde, swept back by a pink headband. She was grinning and Bill noticed that her teeth were a little lopsided.

Mayor Keene stood and walked to the bookcase, smiling fondly at the picture, clearly remembering when it was taken.

“ No,” He said softly, “ This is my sister, Bess.” 

“ She’s beautiful.” Someone said, from behind, and Bill turned around to see Beverly standing behind him with her mouth agape and her eyebrows furrowed.

“ She really was.” Mayor Keene said, looking at the floor.

“ Wu-was?” Bill questioned. 

Mayor Keene nodded, and the other losers and Audra crowded around him.

“ Bess was my youngest sister. When this photograph was taken, she was fourteen, and I was sixteen. That following month, Bess was selected for The Games. I never saw her again.” He said.

Audra gasped a little at the story, and ran to envelope Mayor Keene in a hug. “ I’m so sorry!” She wailed, and Mayor Keene stiffened a bit at the contact.

“ There there.” He murmured and patted Audra’s back, looking thoroughly uncomfortable.

Audra finally pulled away, wiping stray tears off her cheeks.   
“ I think we should get you kids your jumpsuits now.” She said, and took Ben’s arm.

“ Okay,” She murmured looking over a large grey bin that the losers had not noticed previously. 

She pulled out a sleek black jumpsuit and before she could say anything- “ Oh my gosh! That reminds me of what Eddie’s mom was wearing last night, it really highlighted her fat rolls-” Richie was interrupted by a sharp yell from Eddie and he slunk away, laughing so hard there were tears in his eyes. Bill expected that the tears weren’t entirely from the joke, but from Mayor Keene’s sister.

Audra stifled a laugh, and handed the jumpsuit to Ben, who took it and folded it up between his hands. Then, she handed out the rest of the suits and the losers all took them and Bill observed there was a little tag on the back that read, WILLIAM D. He wondered if the others had the same tag.

Bill pushed that dumb idea out of his head, because of course they did and he decided that the stupid thought was a result of his fastly beating heart and he tried to calm his breathing.

Bill must have been trying to calm his breathing a little too hard, because Stanley stepped a little closer, wearing a concerned look with slightly parted lips and droopy eyes that were partly covered by golden coils of hair.

" You okay, Bill?" He whispered softly, no one else was paying attention to them, Richie was making farting noises out of his mouth, Eddie was ranting about how disgusting that was, Ben was helping Beverly fold her jumpsuit, and Mike was flipping through a history book that he had taken of Mayor Keene's desk. 

Stanley furrowed his brows a little, and pushed his hair out of his face.

Bill nodded, looking at his feet. He was fine, sure he was dying later today, and he would never get to be an adult, or have a job, or get married, and make a nice family. Bill sighed, and shook his head. He wasn't as fine as he thought.

Stanley put a hand gently on Bill's cheek. His skin was smooth and soft, and his eyes were hazel and almond shaped, and Bill had never wanted to kiss anyone more than he wanted to kiss Stanley right now. 

Bill swallowed. He remembered back to a time that seemed a lifetime away, when a younger six year old Bill Denbrough went to first grade for the first time. His teacher, Miss Lambert, had taken one look at him and said, " You're gay." The way she said it wasn't rude, just sure.

He had then asked what gay was, and Miss Lambert had replied with, " Gay means that a boy is attracted to other boys instead of girls," 

Bill remembered looking another boy in the classroom and pointing to him, asking if he was gay too. To that, Miss Lambert had just shrugged and said she didn't know.

Then Bill had asked her if being gay was bad and Miss Lambert sighed softly, and looked at her lap, " Some people think so," She said and from that point on Bill had been gay, and he didn't question it. He knew that the way he looked at other boys wasn't how most boys looked at them.

Bill met Stan's eyes, and it almost seemed like they were going to kiss and Bill could imagine it, he could imagine touching Stanley's curls and their lips fitting together- but that fantasy was rudely interrupted by Richie, because of course it was.

" Stan and Bill are making love now!" He shouted, and Stan moved his hand off of Bills cheek, and narrowed his eyes at Richie, but then he smiled and his curls wobbled and then everyone was laughing, even Mayor Keene and there was a little more understanding between Bill and Stanley from that point on. And for a moment time stopped as everyone laughed and clutched their stomachs and Bill hot lost in the innocence of it all, because sure there was no way to know what would happen, but for now things were okay.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comment if you liked it!


	22. Goodbyes and Hellos

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi again! It’s me, this chapter is a little early,, who knew I was capable in doing that lol. Anyways I hope you enjoy it, and fair warning: shit gets real starting next chapter so stay tuned!

Barbara and Patty came into Mayor Keene's office a couple of minutes later, and the losers were sent to change into their jumpsuits.

When they were finished, they all wandered out of the changing rooms and saw the adults chatting, with sad little grimaces on their faces. Beverly knew why.

It was because she and her friends were about to go to fight the clown. And they were going to die.

Beverly tried not to cry as Audra handed her the black pistol. It felt heavy, and so did Beverly's heart.

She watched as Mayor Keene, Audra, Patty, and Barbara handed out the rest of the weapons. 

Richie took his bat from Patty and stared at it for a second as if he couldn't believe it was actually there in his hands.

Eddie held his knife carefully, as if it would hurt him if he moved so much as one inch.

Mike had his rifle in one hand, he was holding it by his side, looking alot like a soldier.

Bill had his nunchucks, clenched in one fist, by his side.

Ben held his flamethrower, with both hands. He looked at it sadly, and Beverly shared his sadness.

Stan had his throwing knives in a little sack, that he had attached to the belt of his jumpsuit. His hands were shaking so much that if he were holding the knives, he would have probably dropped them anyways. 

" Okay, kids." Barbara said. She patted Eddie on the shoulder, and put her hand gently on Mike's cheek.

" This is goodbye for me. I won't see you again until after The Games. Well, if…" Barbara trailed off, but everyone knew what she was going to say.

Eddie suddenly ran forward and hugged her. 

“ Thanks Barbara, for helping me learn my knife. I’ll miss you,” He told her. Barbara looked a little surprised at the sudden hug, but quickly returned it. 

“ Good luck all of you.” Barbara said and wiped her eyes with her hand. Then she walked out of the office. 

Patty stepped forward, and winked at the losers. 

“ You’re a good bunch of kids. I wish you the best.” She told them, and everyone went forward to hug her. Beverly cried a little into the older woman’s neck, but she could tell that Patty was tearing up a little too. 

When everyone pulled away, Beverly reamined latched to Patty’s neck.

“ Go get your man,” She whispered into her ear.

Patty gave a watery chuckle, and Beverly pulled away finally.

“ Bye bye, Pats.” Richie teased, good naturedly, using the ugliest shortened version of Patricia that Beverly had ever heard. 

“ Bye Richie.” Patty laughed.

Then she left, and the losers were alone again with Audra and Mayor Keene.

Audra looked as if she was about to explode, as she ran forward and enveloped all of the losers in a giant hug.

“ You guys are so sweet!” She sobbed, and Beverly hugged her tighter.

“ I’ll miss you so much! I hope you make it out, and I hope you end these games,” Audra began solemnly, “ no more children should be dying. Not like this.” 

“ I’ll try,” Beverly whispered into Audra’s shirt.

After a second, Audra pulled away and waved. It was goodbye. Beverly noticed tears in all of the other loser's eyes, even Richie’s and Bill’s.

It made sense though. Audra was a wonderful person, and they would probably never see her again. 

Audra covered her eyes with her hand, and ran out of the room, wailing. 

Mayor Keene squinted his eyes, and looked at the losers.

" I will walk with you to the arena." He said shortly.

Beverly wiped her eyes, and nodded.

" S-sure thing, Mayor Keene." Richie said enthusiastically, but the slight quiver in his voice proved differently.

" Okay, come with me. I will take you there. There will be a quick speech, then you will begin." He said in a monotone voice.

No one said anything, but they all followed Mayor Keene to wherever he was taking them.

They walked down the halls of the building, and down stairs and down more halls, still holding their weapons tightly. Eventually, after a while of walking down stairs, the losers came to a steely room that was huge. There were people everywhere in the room sitting on bleachers, it looked like.

Mayor Keene left the losers standing awkwardly near the doorway, and went over to a giant podium. 

“ Ahem.” He cleared his throat, everyone looked his way.

“ First off, hello Derry!” He began regally. “ I am your Mayor, and these lovely children standing by my side are your representatives for this years Games.” 

“ Now, will you all join me in bidding your selections ‘good luck’?” He asked.

This happened every year at The Games, everyone in the audience would raise their hand and place it over their heart. Making a silent prayer to the selections. Beverly never thought that it would be directed at her one day.

Mayor Keene finished his speech, and then walked over to the losers.

“ You all are wonderful children. I am sorry this had to happen to you.” He murmured.

“ It’s not your fault.” Stanley reasoned.

Mayor Keene shook his head,” Thats no excuse.” He said.

“ Well then, we forgive you.” Eddie said loudly, and everyone nodded.

“ I’m glad. This is my goodbye. I hope to see you again.” He said, and Richie shot finger guns lamely.

“ B-bye.” Bill stuttered, and Ben waved solemnly.

“ Goodbye.” Beverly muttered.

Mayor Keene smiled sadly, and gestured to the center of the room where their was an underground elevator. It was open.

The losers all walked towards it and Bill stepped in first. Then Mike, then Ben, then Richie, then Eddie, then Beverly, and last Stanley. 

Beverly clutched her pistol, and willed herself not to break down. The elevator continued to move.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comment if you liked it!


	23. Underground, and Underprepared

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, so I updated this fic a whole week early! Thats pretty good, huh? If you have any questions, or I didn't explain something well, then leave them in the comments and I'll answer you!

The elevator continued to go down, and it got darker and darker.

No one spoke, not even Richie. Eddie trembled a little bit, and he could feel Stanley doing the same beside him. The elevator was small, and the losers were standing in such close proximity that Eddie could feel every quiver, and every move of the others. It wasn’t exactly comfortable. Eddie’s knife was pushing against his leg, in a kind of painful way, but there wasn’t really anything he could do about that.

The elevator rolled to a stop, and Eddie held his breath as the door opened automatically.

Bill was at the front, so he stepped out first. Then all the others stepped out behind him.

They were in what seemed like a giant cave, Eddie observed. The walls of the ‘cave’ were rocky, and covered in some kind of slimy liquid. There was only one light on the ceiling of the cave, and it illuminated the entire place.

“ What do we do now?” Richie asked suddenly. 

Eddie jumped in surprise. He didn’t expect anyone to say anything.

Bill was the one that answered. “ I-I thi-think we sh-should l-l-look around.”

So they did. But carefully. After inspecting the ‘cave’ for a couple of minutes, a quick “ Over here!” came from Stanley.

Everyone ran over to where he was, and saw that he was crouched by a little opening. It was big enough for someone of reasonable size to fit through. It was probably the way to get to Pennywise.

“ Who wants to go first?” Mike asked, balancing his gun on the ‘cave’ wall.

“ Not me,” Richie said.

No one else said anything after that.

“ Well, someone has to go.” Mike told them, rolling his eyes a little.

“ I can.” Beverly volunteered.

“ A-are yo-you sure, B-Bev?” Bill stuttered.

“ Yes,” Beverly snapped, an edge to her voice.

“ O-okay.” Bill said, backing away from her a little bit.

Everyone stood silently as Beverly sat next to the opening, and put her pistol on the belt of her jumpsuit. Then she shimmied down the hole, disappearing from sight.

“ It’s okay!” She called up a second later.

Bill went down next, his nunchucks gripped in his left hand.

Then Mike went, but not before handing his giant revolver down to Bill.

Next, Ben went. He had a little difficulty getting down, because of his size, but it was fine in the end. He had to hand his flamethrower down, same as Mike.

Stanley was next. His knives were in a sack on his hip, so there was no struggle there.

That left Richie and Eddie.

“ Good luck.” Richie said, pecking Eddie’s cheek, before he himself went through the opening, holding his bat securely in his hands.

Eddie stood speechlessly for a second, then he too climbed down through the hole, not before handing his knife down to someone. Eddie didn’t know who, because it was too dark to see. 

When he stepped foot on the ground, Ben handed him his knife, and Eddie held it by his side. 

" What now?" Richie asked impatiently, shuffling his feet. Eddie finally looked around. They were in a small tube shaped hole, that was only a little taller than Richie (the tallest loser). It was wide enough for all seven of them to stand shoulder to shoulder. It wasn't a very long tube, but still, Eddie couldn't see either end, because of the nonexistent lighting.

Stan, who was next to Bill, on the very side if the tube, suddenly turned on a light.

" Where did you get that?" Beverly asked.

" I found it on the ground." Stan answered. He looked highly uncomfortable. There was a flashlight clutched loosely in his right hand, and he looked as if he was trying to hold it as far away from him as he could. Like maybe it was infected with something.

Eddie took the flashlight, not missing the little sigh of relief that came from Stan.

" Are there any more?" Mike wondered aloud, and Eddie shined the light on the floor of the tube.

There was _a lot_ on the floor of the tube.

" Fuck." Richie said breathlessly.

“ Fuck,” Mike agreed.

One the floor of the tube, Eddie saw many many things. There was a ripped kite, that looked about a hundred years old, and there was a creepy clown doll, and there was a fork, and there was a wooden horse, and there was a pack of bubblegum, and there was a broken beer bottle, and there was a pencil, and there was a dusty lamp, and there was a grey umbrella, and little wooden ruler, and there was a chess pawn, and there was a camera, and there was a pink coat, but in all of that there was no other flashlight. 

Eddie was surprised that no one had stepped on anything, when they were jumping down through the hole. 

Beverly stepped forward, and put a hand on the pink jacket. It was dirty, with mud, and dust. It was a pale, and faded pink, that looked like it had once been brighter. Bev picked it up and flipped it over in her grasp. She gasped.

“ Wuh- what is i-it?” Bill asked her.

Beverly didn’t say anything. She turned the jacket, so that the other losers could see it. On the tag of the jacket, a name was written in neat scrawl. 

_Bess Keene_.

No one spoke for a minute. 

“ He’s fucking with us!” Richie said suddenly.. 

“ He’s fucking with us! He knows we know about Bess! He’s just trying to scare us! That stupid clown-fucker is trying to scare us away!” Richie continued, his voice cracking a little bit at the end of the sentence.

Eddie thought about that for a minute.

“ I think Richie’s right.” He announced.

“ What?” Ben asked, cocking his head.

“ Pennywise uses fear to his advantage. He wants to scare us...so that we’re easier to kill.” Eddie said, pronouncing each word carefully.

“ That makes sense.” Stanley said. It was just like him to say something like that. From the time that Eddie had known Stan for, he understood more and more that Stan relied on things making sense. It made him feel secure.

“ Okay,” Ben started, “ So, if we don’t get scared…” He trailed off a little bit.

“ Pennywise will have a harder time getting us.” Eddie finished off for him, feeling a little rush of momentum.

“ Right,” Richie said, and kneeled to the ground.

“ Um, what are you doing?” Stan asked shakily.

Richie looked up at him, and flashed a little grin. “ I’m looking for resources. Y’know, stuff that might come in handy later on?” 

Stan looked taken aback.

Eddie smiled slightly, he had to give Richie credit. For someone who didn’t look like he had even graduated from first grade, he was really smart.

“ G-great id-idea, Rich-Richie.” Bill praised, and also kneeled to the ground.

The two of them began sifting through the pile of stuff. Eddie could almost hear his mother in the back of his mind, “ _Eddie- bear! Don’t touch those nasty, nasty, things! You don’t know where they’ve been!”_

Eddie shook his head, pushing her out. He didn’t have time to deal with her. He had to keep his eye on the prize.

He also got to his knees, pushing his knife down next to him. Eddie put the flashlight in his mouth, and gripped it by his teeth. 

Eventually everyone else started digging though the pile. In a couple of minutes, they had a couple of things.  
  


A pocketknife, a long piece of rope, and a pretty big satchel.

“ Okay, everyone hand me your weapons.” Mike said, and the losers did as told. Mike put as many weapons as he could into the satchel. That included Eddie’s knife, Ben’s flamethrower, Richie’s bat, Bill’s nunchucks, and Beverly’s pistol. Mike had found a way to tie his rifle to his hip with the rope, and Stanley’s knives already had a pocket to go in. The pocket knife also went in the satchel because it was so small. 

Beverly put Bess’ jacket sound her waist. Insisting that they musn’t leave it behind. No one could argue with that.

  
Eddie looked around the tube.  
  
“ How do we get out of here?” He asked.

Mike threw the satchel over his shoulder, and looked around. 

So did everyone else.

No one had an answer.

Well, no one had an answer until the ground at the bottom of the tube began to rattle, and it completely gave away. Then the losers fell.

They fell, out of the tube, that had once seemed so sturdy, and onto the rocky floor below them.

Eddie sat up after a minute. He groaned, and pulled his inhaler from a pocket in his jumpsuit. He took a deep breath of it.

It wasn't a very long fall, but it was still one that could injure someone if they landed wrong.

Eddie looked at the other loser's who were all in a similar position to him. Beverly stuck out her hand, and Eddie handed her the inhaler. She took a long drag, and handed it back to him.

  
Eddie noticed something out of the corner of his eye. He looked over a little, and saw a red balloon. It was floating by itself, a little string attached to the end. On the balloon in shaky lettering, the word _WELCOME_ was clear to see.

\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Pssst! If anyone is interested in seeing what I imagine the losers weapons to look like then click on the links below:

Beverly’s pistol: <https://images.app.goo.gl/ojHPiXfqH84LYod66>

Mike’s revolver: <https://images.app.goo.gl/ujit44kBAd4wUkaZ8>

Bill’s nunchucks: <https://images.app.goo.gl/4ekkb1msKQPTnEzn7>

Ben’s flamethrower: [https://www.bing.com/images/search?view=detailV2&ccid=mDQqVchP&id=EA824C2E44BA4BB40272FA19C7D22009C6174ABA&thid=OIP.mDQqVchPXS1DVTPXbG_BZwHaE8&mediaurl=http%3A%2F%2Fimgs.abduzeedo.com%2Ffiles%2Ffrancois%2Ftheperfectoffice%2F020418%2FBoring-Company-Handheld-Flamethrower-03.jpg&exph=867&expw=1300&q=handheld+flamethrower&simid=608001785756520335&ck=7DE614AE588A61993275F61CE3EF7459&selectedindex=34&form=EX0023&adlt=demote&shtp=GetUrl&shid=5d9d90d6-8686-4de0-adab-142b89487522&shtk=VGhlIFBlcmZlY3QgT2ZmaWNlIC0gVGljd2F0Y2ggUyZFIEFuZHJvaWQgV2VhciwgR29vZ2xlIC4uLg%3D%3D&shdk=Rm91bmQgb24gQmluZyBmcm9tIGFiZHV6ZWVkby5jb20%3D&shhk=9r5teNWGZkLpWWg7IJKMej7nyeTyatvtMoYCEpTfeYo%3D&shth=OSH.F%252BptM0fttmOv4E5LG6J%252BWQ](https://www.bing.com/images/search?view=detailV2&ccid=mDQqVchP&id=EA824C2E44BA4BB40272FA19C7D22009C6174ABA&thid=OIP.mDQqVchPXS1DVTPXbG_BZwHaE8&mediaurl=http%3A%2F%2Fimgs.abduzeedo.com%2Ffiles%2Ffrancois%2Ftheperfectoffice%2F020418%2FBoring-Company-Handheld-Flamethrower-03.jpg&exph=867&expw=1300&q=handheld+flamethrower&simid=608001785756520335&ck=7DE614AE588A61993275F61CE3EF7459&selectedindex=34&form=EX0023&adlt=demote&shtp=GetUrl&shid=5d9d90d6-8686-4de0-adab-142b89487522&shtk=VGhlIFBlcmZlY3QgT2ZmaWNlIC0gVGljd2F0Y2ggUyZFIEFuZHJvaWQgV2VhciwgR29vZ2xlIC4uLg%3D%3D&shdk=Rm91bmQgb24gQmluZyBmcm9tIGFiZHV6ZWVkby5jb20%3D&shhk=9r5teNWGZkLpWWg7IJKMej7nyeTyatvtMoYCEpTfeYo%3D&shth=OSH.F%252BptM0fttmOv4E5LG6J%252BWQ)

Richie’s bat: <https://images.app.goo.gl/jJwC68ewopbCDGaj9>

Stanley’s throwing knives: <https://images.app.goo.gl/rx9mt8RRuTGMyFro6>

Eddie’s blade:[ https://images.app.goo.gl/RfVP2pwU2hdvicvz9](https://images.app.goo.gl/RfVP2pwU2hdvicvz9)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comment if you liked it! This is one of the longest chapters I've ever written in this fic, i'm pretty sure! I guess i was just really inspired!


	24. Creepy Shit Happens

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Heres a new chapter! Sorry for the wait!
> 
> (( Warning! This chapter has mentions of gore, and just an overall darker tone than the previous chapters! If that bothers anyone I recommend not reading this chapter! ))

Ben fought for a breath of air when he saw the red balloon. It only floated there innocently, but Ben knew it was a trademark of Pennywise.

They were nearby.

Ben stood up. The other losers did the same thing, but before they could, the balloon popped.

It was a loud pop, and it startled Ben.

He jumped a little and whipped his head to watch where the balloon had previously been floating.

There was nothing left in the air, of course, but there was something on the ground. Something Ben couldn't identify.

He was scared, because who wouldn't be afraid?

Then Ben remembered what Eddie and Richie said when they first found Bess’s jacket.

"If we're not scared, Pennywise will have more trouble killing us." 

Mike had all the weapons. Well, except Stan's knives. 

Ben heard rustling behind him and looked to see what was making the noise.

It was Bev, she was digging through the satchel, looking for her gun.

As she pulled it out and held it forward, stepping in front of the others Ben couldn't help but feel safer.

Beverly would shoot whatever it was. He knew she'd do it. He completely trusted her.

"What the fuck?" Richie asked. 

"Shut up!" Eddie hissed in response, and Ben mentally prepared for the argument about to take place.

But there was no argument, perhaps because the thing on the ground began to move. Rapidly, at that.

Beverly stood squarely, her legs apart and her arms gripping the black pistol.

Ben thought she was beautiful.

He thought about it fleetingly.

He didn't think what she was doing that was beautiful. No, it was just her.

The way she snapped at Bill when he suggested she shouldn't go through that dumb hole before anyone else did. The way her curls fell on her pale skin and her freckles that dotted pale, blushing, cheeks. 

Ben was torn from his thoughts, as Eddie shined the flashlight he was holding at the popped balloon, illuminating the puddle of mess on the rocky ground. 

It was an eye. An eyeball.

The eye was round, and there was an optical nerve coming out of the back. It was rolling around aimlessly, almost as if it was having a seizure, but somehow the iris never left the losers.

An embarrassingly unmanly shriek came from Ben, as he went further back to Mike; he had been behind him all this time.

Ben looked at Beverly's back, and she seemed frozen. 

But the redhead quickly recovered, firing twice at the offensive which was convulsing on the ground.

Both bullets hit the eyeball, but that didn't surprise Ben, as Beverly's skills with her pistol were very impressive.

The eye seemed to be pulling away. It was disgusting.

Ben observed how the movement slowly died out, and the eye settled in a heap of blood.

It was dead.

After another beat, Richie spoke up.

" Fucking hell." He said, and Ben turned around to look at him.

Richie looked incredibly upset and quite disheveled, he seemed to be making a point not to look at the eye. One of his scrawny arms was wrapped tight around Eddie's shoulders. The shorter boy was trembling in Richie's hold.

Richie seemed to realize his awkward position and moved quickly.

Ben didn't pay attention to them.

He turned around to glance at Bev, and saw that she was still staring at the withered eyeball. 

“Hey, are you okay, Beverly?” Ben asked, and she turned quickly. 

Suddenly, she was charging forward and grabbing Ben’s chin with her little hand. She connected their mouths.

The time stopped, for Ben. His heart thudded in his chest, and his knees began to weaken. He was sure he'd fall if Beverly wasn't holding his face like that.

Beverly continued to deepen the kiss, little by little, and Ben didn’t know what else to do but kiss her back. Her lips were soft, and as they pushed back against his own, Ben wondered how his lips felt. They were probably chapped, he thought.

Beverly pulled back, a second later, and Ben realized that all the other losers were looking at them strangely.

Beverly cleared her throat.

“What the fuck was that?” Richie exclaimed, eyes glinting, “I can’t even remember the last time I kissed Eddie’s mom like that, must be spending too much time in this shithole. Can’t wait to get back to her.” 

It was almost surprising to Ben that Eddie didn’t interrupt all red-faced and screaming like he usually did.

But when he saw the little boy, looking very uncomfortable, Ben realized that maybe he and Beverly were the cause of it.

“Disgusting, Richie.” Beverly chided, wringing her hands.

“So i-is everyone d-done mak-making out, o-or is th-there more?” Bill asked, trying to ease the tension. Ben didn’t miss the way his eyes flew to Stan.

“We’re done.” Ben swallowed and finally took the opportunity to look around.

They were in a different cave. Or at least that was what it looked like.

The area was huge, and Ben thought that someone could probably get lost in it. 

There was a bunch of junk on the ground, just like in the "tube."

Ben, his face still hot from what happened with Beverly, started walking around.

It wasn’t a confident walk, no, it was more of a ‘there-was-just-a-disgusting-eyeball-and-there-might-be-another-one-or-something-equally-as-gross-wherever-I-step’ kind of walk.

Ben noticed that other people were doing the same thing, but it was as if there was a distinctive pattern.

Stan held onto Bill’s arm. Richie tugged on the back of Eddie’s shirt. And Mike followed Bev, rifle raised protectively.

Ben ripped his eyes away from her. He was wondering if that kiss meant anything.

No, it didn’t, Ben decided. Beverly was probably just in shock because of the whole eyeball thing, and she wasn’t thinking straight. There was no way a beautiful girl like Beverly Marsh could feel attracted to a pig, like Ben.

He scoffed, but just as he was about to continue exploring the cave, a hand settled on his shoulder, making him jump.

He spun around, and it was Beverly.

“Hey, I just wanted to say that I’m sorry. You know...about earlier?” Bev whispered.

Here it comes, Ben thought. This was the part where she was going to say sorry for getting his hopes up. Sorry for making him feel like he had a chance with her. Ben gulped.

“I didn’t mean to embarrass you.” Beverly continued, not noticing that Ben was practically having a full conversation in his head.

“Wait, what?” He asked, registering her statement.

Bev looked anywhere but at him.

“Oh, you know. I didn’t mean to kiss you like that in front of everyone. You probably aren’t even interested in me.” She murmured.

Ben was blown away. How could anyone not be interested in Beverly Marsh? She was stunning and brave, and fun, and everything good in the world.

“What? Of course, I’m interested in you.” Ben said, blushing mildly, “I just knew that you’d never be into me-”

Bev started to snicker.

“What?” Ben asked, suddenly self-conscious.

“Why would I kiss you if I wasn’t interested?” Beverly questioned, still trying to hide her smile.

Ben struggled, “I don’t know, I just thought you were in shock, from the eye or something…” 

Bev laughed again. It was a nice sound, Ben regarded vaguely.

“It’ll take a lot more than some eyeball to shake me, Benny.” She purred.

“Does this mean you like me?” Ben couldn’t help but ask.

“Yes,” Beverly told him.

“Why? What about Bill? He’s handsome.” Ben said sourly.

“So are you,” Beverly pointed out.

“What- I’m so fat!” Ben exclaimed.

Beverly nodded, “Yeah sure, but that doesn’t make you any less handsome. Plus, Bill’s obviously in love with Stanley.” She said.

“Really?” Ben asked.

“Yeah, of course. Haven’t you noticed? He follows him around like a puppy and when he isn’t doing that he won’t shut up about him.” 

Ben had to agree that he did notice that from time to time.

“Okay, fine.” He said.

“Enough talk about them. They aren’t important. What if I told you that I wanted to kiss you again, Ben?”

Ben felt his face heat up.

“I would say to go ahead.” He told her, taking steeling breaths.

Beverly smiled crookedly at that, and stood on her tiptoes, kissing Ben’s lips.

“Be my boyfriend?” She asked, pulling away slightly so that their lips were only slightly touching.

“Yeah.” Ben agreed, in a lovesick daze. Beverly grinned and connected their mouths once again.

“AHH!” A scream came, abruptly putting a stop to Ben and Beverly’s kissing.

The two of them made eye contact and then ran to where the scream was coming from. 

It was Richie and Eddie. 

As Ben and Bev arrived at where they heard the scream, the other losers were showing up too.

Eddie was gripping Richie's arm so damn tightly, that to Ben it looked like it was about to fall off. However, Richie didn’t look too bothered, but Ben suspected that it was because he was too busy screaming.

“Richie! Richie! Shut up!” Stan whispered, shaking the taller boy’s shoulders.

Ben looked to where Richie was staring, and what he saw shook him to the core.

It was a table. A small table, that was round and pink. But that wasn’t even the worst part. 

Dolls were sitting at the table. Ugly, disgusting, creepy, dolls. They looked to be sculpted out of porcelain, and they were made to look like the losers. 

It was so disturbing that Ben struggled not to throw up.

Richie eventually stopped screaming, much to Stan’s relief, and was now standing behind Mike.

Ben looked at the dolls again, trepidatiously. All of them had pasty skin. The doll that looked like Ben, had his light brown hair, but it was matted. It had his blue eyes, but they were cloudy and dead looking. The doll was wearing a gray hoodie and blue jeans, much like what Ben used to wear all the time, but that was before the games.

Ben shivered a little and looked at the other dolls. 

Mike’s doll had brown skin and black hair. It sort of looked like him, in the way that Ben’s doll looked like him. Mike’s was wearing a pair of overalls and a flannel shirt. It looked like the epitome of a cowboy. Now that Ben thought about it, Mike had mentioned something about living on a farm. 

Beverly’s doll had white skin, that was literally like paper. The doll had bright, pink, blush dots on its cheeks, and red lips. The doll’s red curls were knotted, and dusty looking. Ben wrinkled his nose at the sight of it. The doll was wearing a white tank top and blue shorts. It was the ugliest thing Ben had ever seen. It  _ didn’t  _ even look like Beverly.

Richie’s doll was as pale as Beverly’s. His didn’t have the crazy amount of blush like hers did though. Richie’s doll had black curls, but they were natty, and greasy looking. The doll had on ripped jeans and a Hawaiian t-shirt. Its eyes were big, brown, and glazed over.

Eddie’s doll was in worse shape than the other ones. It looked as if someone had let a toddler play with it. The arm was bent and dangling, and the clothes were dirty and stained. Other than that, the brown hair was disheveled. The doll had a miniature fanny pack around its ugly waist. The only thing that wasn’t messed up was the doll's eyes. They were glassy and looked just like the others.

Stanley’s doll was neat. Neater than Eddie’s, for sure. The doll had limp blonde curls, that were hanging there like a dead animal of some kind. The doll had a blue polo shirt on, and it was accompanied by khaki pants. Its eyes were a muddy hazel color. It was sort of a good imitation of Stanley, Ben thought to himself.

Bill’s doll was as ugly as the others. The doll’s red hair was shaggy and lifeless, and its blue eyes were large and waxen. Bill’s doll had on a blue shirt and dark jorts. It was an outfit that Ben had seen Bill wear, on the day they were selected. Ben wondered fruitlessly how Pennywise had gotten a glimpse at it.

Ben looked at the other losers, who were all similarly observing their dolls. 

“That’s some scary shit.” Richie breathed.

Stan snorted, “Yeah, like you weren’t just screaming like a little girl back there.”

Beverly put her hands on her hips, offended, “I don’t scream like that!”

“G-guys!” Bill interrupted and everyone looked back at the dolls.

Ben suddenly saw movement, as a trail of red liquid slipped out of his doll’s eye. Blood. The doll’s eyes were  _ bleeding. _

Ben watched as the doll continued to bleed out of its eyes, and looked at the other dolls briefly, only to see that they were also bleeding. But not from their eyes.

Beverly’s was bleeding out of its stomach. Eddie’s was bleeding out of its arm. Bill's was bleeding out of its throat. Stanley’s was bleeding out of its wrist. Richie’s was bleeding out of its leg. Mike’s was bleeding out of its chest. The blood was thick and didn’t stop flowing for a long time. 

Ben wondered if it was a threat.

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comment/Kudos if you liked it!


	25. Chapter 25

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Heres a new chapter! It's pretty short, but the next one will be super action packed and lonngg! I promise!

The dolls weren’t doing anything remotely threatening, so the losers moved along. It was still quite creepy that there were  _ dolls _ that looked like them, but the losers had stuff to do.

They split the group in half-and-half. Bill, Stanley, Richie, and Eddie went one way, while Ben, Mike, and Beverly went the other way.

They weren’t exactly sure what they were looking for, but they wanted to find it. Whatever it was.

“W-where sh-should w-we sta-start, g-g-guys?” Bill asked, jumping down over a boulder.

The entire place was a huge cave. Like an actual cave that cavemen would live in.

“Well does it look like we know, Bill?” Richie said dryly, jumping down the same rock.

“L-look, I-I don-don’t kno-kn-know what w-we’re looking f-f-for!” Bill exclaimed, his face flushing.

“Relax, both of you.” Stan said, and Bill turned in shock to look at him.

He was obviously surprised that Stanley had spoken up.

Stan cocked his head, “Arguing won’t help anything.” He said.

“Okay, so where should we start?” Eddie queried, looking quickly around.

“Umm, well we have to find the clown fucker right?” Richie asked.

Bill nodded.

“Okay, then lets lure him here.”

Bill thought that was an awful idea, and it looked like Stanley did too.

“Great idea, Rich!” Eddie exclaimed and Bill whipped his head around so fast that he would've gotten whiplash.

He didn’t remember Eddie ever telling Richie he had a ‘great idea’ before now.

Richie smiled crookedly. Bill shook his head.

“W-we ca-can’t do th-that! It w-would b-be t-too dan-dangerous!” He exclaimed.

Stan, who had been holding the back of the other boys shirt for security, nodded in agreement.

“Bill’s right. We would be dead meat.” He muttered, shivering slightly.

Eddie groaned, “You guys! There's no other way”

Bill quirked his eyebrows, “T-the g-games d-don’t ha-have a t-time li-limit…?”

Richie, who had been silent for a little while, suddenly spoke up.

“Yeah, but it’s best to get it over with now. We might die, anyways.”

Stanley flinched, and moved closer to Bill.

Bill sighed, and looked at the ground. Richie and Eddie were right, after all. It was probably best to do it that way.

“... Okay. I guess we better tell the others.” He sighed.

Richie nodded and moved to walk away. But, before how could, Eddie stopped him.

“Wait! We have to know how we’re going to lure him first! We don’t want to seem like idiots!”

Richie paused and turned back. 

Bill stopped in his tracks, and Stanley whipped his head around to look at the smaller boy.

“What?”

Eddie rolled his eyes, “You heard me! We have to have a fucking plan!”

“Umm...what would attract Pennywise?” Richie asked rhetorically.

“Fear.” Stanley said suddenly. He was still close to Bill, as if their proximity could protect him from something.

“Wait! Stan’s right!” Eddie exclaimed.

“How can we do that?” Richie questioned.

“W-Well, w-we wou-would j-just ha-have to-to b-be s-scared, ri-right?”

“It’s not that easy, dumbass.” Eddie scoffed. 

“Well, it has to be strong fear, or else Pennywise won’t come. He has to be able to feel it, from wherever he is.” Stan said calmly, pushing a little further into Bill’s side.

Bill nodded. “That sounds right.”

Richie laughed.

Eddie turned to him, lips curling upward in displeasure, “What are you laughing about, asshat?”

“Nothing! I was just thinking how funny it is, you being so super small compared to the rest of us!”

Eddie glared so hard, that Bill was passively concerned that his face would stay like that.

“You fucker!” Eddie screamed and ran at Richie, proceeding to kick him in the shin.

Richie shrieked like a little girl, and cupped his leg. Stan snorted from beside Bill. The stuttering boy thought it was the cutest thing he had ever heard.

“Stop!” Richie yelled as Eddie veered to kick him again.

“Not...until...you...take...it...back!” Eddie yelled, kicking Richie between each of the words he said.

“Okay! Okay! I take it back!” Richie whined, trying to shield himself from Eddie’s feet.

“Good.” Eddie muttered, refusing to help Richie up off the ground from where he had fallen.

“Back to the actual problem,” Richie said, standing up and dusting his jumpsuit off.

“Y-yeah. Wh-what ar-are w-we going to-to do t-t-to lure P-P-P-Pennywise?” Bill asked, stuttering extra badly on the word ‘Pennywise’.

“Fear, right?” Stan asked softly.

“Y-yeah, b-b-but h-how?” 

Stan’s lips parted slightly as if he was getting ready to say something, but he changed his mind at the last minute.

“We just get scared, don’t we?” Richie asked dumbly.

Eddie glared at him, “It’s not that simple, shithead!”

Richie looked bewildered, “It can be.” He said.

“How?” Eddie roared, and Bill guessed that he was near the end of his patience.

“Why don’t we just all get into a circle, like that weird-culty-corn-movie that Mayor Keene had, and just think of what we’re scared of?” Richie suggested, like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

“Worth a shot.” Stan said, and Bill jumped a little, because he didn’t expect it.

Richie beamed, and Eddie sighed in an exhausted way. 

“Okay, lets go!” Richie shouted, and began to run. 

Eddie chased after him, at the same speed, and Bill couldn’t help but think that looked a little dangerous considering that they could hardly see what was on the floor.

“Wait up!” Stan yelled, in a louder tone than the soft-spoken boy usually took on, and he too began to run.

Bill bit his lip, but then he also started to run to where the other losers were standing.

“Did you guys find anything?” Beverly demanded as soon as she saw them approach.

“No,” Eddie groaned miserably.

“Did you?” Richie asked.

“No.” Ben answered.

“But!” Richie cut in, before anyone else could say anything, “We think we might have a plan!” 

“What is it?” Mike asked.

“Well we were thinking that since it would take a really long time to find Pennywise ourselves, that we could just lure him to us.” 

“Okay...how would we do that?” Beverly questioned.

“Simple!” Eddie exclaimed, “We use fear!” 

Beverly began to grin.

“Great plan, guys!” She praised.

“Thanks! I came up with it!” Richie told her proudly.

Mike interrupted before she could say anything back, “That sounds like a good idea, but what would we even do?” 

Eddie shrugged, “Richie said that we should just sit in a circle and think about what scares us most.”

Ben contorted his face, and Bill could safely assume that he thought it was the stupidest idea ever on the earth. Bill agreed.

“Um, okay.” Ben said.

Bev, Richie, and Eddie all looked incredibly eager, and Bill thought he could also see a bit of hope in Stanley’s eyes. Well, if you looked past all the fear that was also there.

Mike, who was still holding the bag of weapons, set it down with a big thump.

“Let's do it, then.”

Everyone sat down in a circle, and the bag of weapons was in the center. 

Bill sighed, and closed his eyes.

“On three,” He heard Eddie say, One, two, three.” 

And then Bill’s mind filled with images of Georgie. 

He didn’t even think about it really, he already knew that his worst fear would be the death of his little brother.

His brain conjured up images of Georgie dying in all sorts of different ways.

It was terrifying. Completely terrifying. Bill felt himself getting chills, as the images continued to pop up.

He squeezed his eyes shut and tried to not pass out.

And then he heard cackling. A manic cackling. 

Bill knew what it was. 

It was Pennywise.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comment or kudos if you liked it!


End file.
